r 


■i“3  -A)  -  X  \  ^  C 


HISTOEY 


op  THK 


« 

issimtarj  teoptiun, 

J 


WITH 


Facts  and  Anecdotes 


ILLUSTRATING 


ITS  WORK  IN  THE  SOUTH 


S.  W.  Green,  Printer  and  Stereotyper,  16  and  1^  Jacob  Street,  New-York, 


5  O 


READE  STREET,  l^EW-YORK. 


or'r'ic:Eii^!^. 

Corresponding  Secretaries. 

Kev.  Geo.  Whipple;  Rev.  M.  E.  Strieby,  56  Reade  St.,  New- York. 

Rev.  W.  W.  Patton,  D.D.,  107  Fifth  Ave  ,  Chicago,  Ill. 

Field  Secretary. 

Rev.  E.  M.  Cravath,  56  Reade  St.,  New-York, 

DistHct  Secretaries. 

Rev.  C.  L.  Woodworth,  Congregational  House,  Boston,  Mass. 

Rev.  G.  D.  Pike,  56  Reade  St.,  New-York. 

Treasurer. 

Edgar  Ketchum,  Esq.,  New-York. 

Assistant  Treasurer. 

W.  E.  Whiting,  56  Reade  St.,  New-York. 

COMMUNICATIONS 

Relating  to  the  business  of  the  Association  may  be  addressed  to  either  of  the 

Secretaries  as  above. 

DONATIONS  AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS 

May  be  sent  to  W.  E.  Whiting,  56  Reade  Street,  New-York,  or  when  more  con¬ 
venient,  to  either  of  the  Branch  Offices  in  Boston  or  Chicago.  Drafts  or  Checks 
sent  to  Mr.  Whiting  should  be  made  payable  to  his  order  as  Assistant  Treasurer. 
A  payment  of  thirty  dollars  at  one  time  constitutes  a  Life  Member. 


STATISTICS. 

Churches:  In  the  South — in  Va.  1,  N.  C.  5,  S.  C.  1,  Ga.  8,  Ky.  5,  Tenn.  4, 
Ala.  5,  La.  9,  Miss.  2,  Mo.  1,  Kansas  3,  Texas  3.  In  the  West  Indies  6,  Africa  1, 
Siam  1,  Sandwich  Islands  1.  Total,  56. 

Institutions  :  Chartered  in  the  South — Hampton  Institute  ;  Berea  and  Tal¬ 
ladega  Colleges  ;  Atlanta,  Fisk,  Tougaloo  and  Straight  Universities,  7.  Graded 
or  Normal  Schools,  at  Wilmington,  Charleston,  Greenwood,  S.  C.,  Andersonville, 
Macon,  Savannah,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Montgomery,  Mobile,  Marion,  Athens,  Selma,  Ala., 
Chattanooga,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  Lexington,  Louisville,  Ky.,  Columbus,  Miss., 
Galveston,  Texas,  Jefferson  City,  Mo.,  19.  Other  Schools,  47.  Total,  73. 

Teachers  and  Missionaries. — Among  the  Freedmen,  311  ;  among  the 
Chinese,  12;  in  foreign  lands,  29  ;  total,  352.  Students — In  Theology,  47  ;  in 
College  Course,  56  ;  in  Chartered  Institutions,  1907  ;  in  other  schools,  12,141  ; 
total,  14,048.  Indians  under  the  care  of  the  Association,  13,000. 


Those  who  wish  to  remember  the  American  Missionary  Association  in 
their  last  Will  and  Testament  are  earnestly  requested  to  use  the  following  : 

FORM  OF  A  BEQUEST. 

“  I  bequeath  to  my  executor  (or  executors)  the  sum  of - dollars  in  trust, 

to  pay  the  same  in  —  days  after  my  decease  to  the  person  who,  when  the  same 
is  payable,  shall  act  as  Treasurer  of  the  ‘  American  Missionary  Association,’ 
New-York  City,  to  be  applied,  under  the  direction  of  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Association,  to  its  charitable  uses  and  purposes.” 

The  Will  should  be  attested  by  three  witnesses,  (in  some  States  three  are 
required — in  other  States  only  two,)  who  should  write  against  their  names,  their 
places  of  residence,  (if  in  cities,  their  street  and  number).  The  following  form 
of  attestation  will  answer  for  every  State  in  'the  Union  :  “  Signed,  sealed,  pub¬ 
lished,  and  declared  by  the  said  [A.  B.]  as  his  last  Will  and  Testament,  in  pre¬ 
sence  of  us,  who,  at  the  request  of  the  said  A.  B.,  and  in  his  presence,  and  in  the 
presence  of  each  other,  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names  as  witnesses.”  In 
some  States,  it  is  required  that  the  Will  should  be  made  at  least  two  months 
before  the  death  of  the  testator. 


HISTOET 


or  TUE 


ITS  CHURCHES 

AND 

EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS 

AMONG 

THE  FKEEDMEN,  INDIANS,  AND  CHINESE. 

WITH 

ILLUSTRATIVE  FACTS  AND  ANECDOTES. 


New-Yokk: 

S.  W.  GREEN,  PRINTER,  Nos.  16  AND  18  JACOB  STREET. 

1874. 


EXPLAIfJ'ATOEY. 


- - - - 

The  frequent  calls  for  facts  and  documents,  relating  to  the  history 
and  work  of  the  American  Missionary  Association,  have  su2:Q:ested 

j  o  o 

the  preparation  of  these  pages. 

The  items  are  gleaned  mainly  from,  the  Annual  Reports  of  the 
Association  and  its  monthly  periodical,  “  The  American  Missionary  A 

The  History  gives  a  concise  sketch  of  the  work  of  the  Associa¬ 
tion,  reaching  down  to  1868  ;  the  accounts  of  the  Cihjrciies  and 
Educational  Institutions  among  the  Freedmen,  Indians,  and  Chi¬ 
nese,  present  the  more  recent  labors  ;  and  the  Anecdotes  are  intended 
to  furnish,  in  a  pleasant  form,  a  more  general  view  of  the  workers  of 
the  Association,  and  of  the  people  for  whom  they  work.  The  engrav¬ 
ings  are  taken,  mainly,  from  tlie  catalogues  and  circulars  of  the  dif¬ 
ferent  institutions. 

56  Reade  Street,  New- York, 

September,  1874. 


HISTORY 


OF  THE 

American  Missionary  Association. 

- - 

The  story  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  is  now  read  with  less  aston¬ 
ishment  and  indigrnation  than  we  shall  soon  feel  in  view  of  the  martyr 
age  of  America,  now  passing  away.  AYe  are  only  too  familiar  witii 
the  penalties  of  fine,  lash,  and  imprisonment  inflicted  in  our  own  age 
and  country  on  those  who  taught  human  beings  to  read  any  book  or 
printed  matter,”  including,  of  course,  the  AYord  of  God.  ’Tis  but  yes¬ 
terday  that  millions  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  land  could  receive  only 
religious  instruction,  and  that  in  the  presence  of  censors  armed 
with  despotic  power. 

In  1846  the  domination  of  the  slave-power  in  the  United  States 
was  well-nigh  supreme  over  politics,  trade,  the  press,  the  pulpit,  and 
the  benevolent  and  missionary  societies  ;  and  that  was  the  era  of  the 
up-rising  of  organized  opposition  to  its  power.  The  formation  of 
the  American  Missionary  Association  was  one  mark  and  means  of  that 
opposition. 

ORGANIZATION  AND  EARLY  LABORS. 

The  American  Missionary  Association  was  formed  Sept.  3,  1846. 
It  was  preceded  by  four  recently  established  missionary  organizations, 
which  were  subsequently  merged  into  it.  They  were  the  result  of  a 
growing  dissatisfaction  with  the  comparative  silence  of  the  older  mis¬ 
sionary  societies  in  regard  to  Slavery,  and  were  a  protest  against  it. 
The  first  of  these  organizations  was  the  Aaiistad  Committee,  origi- 
natinsc  under  the  following  circumstances.  On  the  26th  of  Auo-., 
1839,  Lieut.  Gedney,  of  the  brig  Washington^  employed  on  the  coast 
survey,  boarded  a  mysterious  schooner,  off  the  east  end  of  Long  Is¬ 
land.  He  found  a  large  number  of  Africans  and  two  Spaniards,  one 


4 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


of  whom  announced  himself  as  the  owner  of  the  negroes,  and  claimed 
Lieut.  Gedney’s  protection.  The  schooner  was  taken  into  tlie  port  of 
New-London,  and  the  Africans,  after  a  brief  examination  in  the  U. 
8.  District  Court,  were  committed  for  trial  for  murder  on  the  high 
seas.  They  were  42  in  number,  three  being  girls.  They  were  all 
sent  to  jail  in  New-Haven. 

When  it  was  ascertained  that  the  negroes  were  recently  from  Africa, 
and  had  been  illegally  bought  at  Havana,  to  be  taken  to  Principe  to 
be  enslaved,  and  that  they  had  risen  upon  their  enslavers  and  recov¬ 
ered  their  liberty,  much  interest  was  excited  in  the  public  mind.  It 
was  seen,  at  once,  that  somebody  must  act  for  these  strangers,  and 
accordingly  the  Amistad  Committee  was  formed  in  New-Tork,  who 
immediately  made  an  appeal  for  funds,  engaged  professional  counsel, 
and  undertook  to  secure  suitable  instruction  for  these  benio:hted 
pagans. 

After  passing  through  several’Courts,  the  final  trial  of  these  Afri¬ 
cans  was  held  in  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  in  pursuance  of  a  demand 
by  the  Minister  of  the  Queen  of  Spain.  John  Quincy  Adams  and 
Roger  S.  Baldwin  argued  the  case  in  their  behalf,  in  March,  1841,  and 
the  “captives”  were  pronounced  free!  They  were  removed  to 
Farmington,  Ct.,  where  they  remained  under  instruction  till  the  fol¬ 
lowing  ISTovember,  when  they  sailed  for  their  native  land,  accompanied 
by  three  missionaries,  sent  by  the  Committee. 

At  this  period,  the  Committee,  occupied  with  their  own  pursuits, 
transferred  the  care  of  these  Africans  and  the  infant  mission  to  the 
Union  Missionary  Society,  a  body  then  recently  organized  in  Hart¬ 
ford,  Ct.,  with  the  same  anti-slavery  aim  as  that  of  the  Amistad  Com¬ 
mittee,  viz. :  “  to  discountenance  slavery,  and  especially,  by  refusing  to 
receive  the  known  fruits  of  unrequited  labor.”  Under  its  auspices,  the 
three  missionaries,  accompanied  by  the  captives,  founded  a  mission- 
station  at  Kaw  Mendi,  West- Africa,  where  the  Gospel  was  preached, 
a  church  organized,  a  school  established,  and  a  decided  influence 
exerted  against  the  slave  trade.  In  1845,  a  terrible  war  raged  among 
the  tribes  around  the  Mission, when  its  power  for  good  was  most  marked. 
It  was  the  refuge  for  hundreds  of  both  parties,  who  fled  to  it  for  pro¬ 
tection.  Its  precincts  were  held  to  be  sacred  by  both  belligerents, 
and  the  missionaries  succeeded  finally  in  restoring  peace. 

The  following  year  the  Union  Missionary  Society  was  merged  into 
the  American  Missionary  Association,  then  formed. 

Committee  for  West-India  Missions. — In  1837,  Rev.  David  S.  In¬ 
graham,  a  godly  and  self-denying  student  of  Lane  Seminary,  and  sub¬ 
sequently  of  Oberlin,  determined  to  attempt  a  self-supporting  mission 
among  the  recently  freed  inhabitants  of  J amaica.  He  was  accompa- 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


nied  and  followed  by  other  missionaries,  and  much  good  was  accom¬ 
plished,  but  the  plan  of  a  self-supporting  mission  was  found  impracti¬ 
cable.  A  Committee  was  organized  in’this  country,  in  1844,  to  act 
in  behalf  of  the  mission,  but  the  Committee^afterwards  transferred  it 
to  the  American  Missionary  Association. 

The  Western  Evangelical  Missionary  Society  was  formed  in 
1843,  by  the  Western  Reserve  (Ohio)  Association,  its  primary  object 
being  to  prosecute  missionary  operations  among  the  Western  In¬ 
dians.  A  number  of  missionaries  were  sent  into  Minnesota,  but  in 
1848,  they  were  put  under  the  care  of  the  American  Missionary  As¬ 
sociation,  and  the  society  ceased  to  exist.  These  Societies  having 
transferred  their  missions  and  funds  to  the 

AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION, 

it  entered  upon  the  work  with  increased  vigor,  strengthening  the 
missions  already  begun,  and  establishing  or  accepting  the  care  of 
others — one  missionary  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  two  in  Siam,  and  a 
number  of  ministers  and  teachers  laboring  among  the  colored  refugees 
in  Canada,  being  taken  under  its  care — so  that  in  1854  its  laborers  in 
the  Foreign  field  numbered  79,  and  were  located  in  West- Africa, 
Jamaica,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Siam,  Canada  and  Minnesota. 

The  Home  Department  of  the  Association  was  conducted  with  a 
special  view  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  free  from  all  complicity 
with  slaverv  and  caste.  Those  of  its  missionaries  who  were  sent  into 
the  Southern  States,  while  aiming  to  benefit  all  classes,  whites  and 
blacks,  with  schools  and  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  yet  bore  an  un¬ 
equivocal  “  testimony”  against  Slavery.  The  largest  number  of  Home 
Missionaries  employed  by  the  Association  was  110  in  1855  ;  they 
were  located  in  the  Horth-Western  States,  and  in  Kentucky  and 
North-Carolina. 


AMONG  THE  SLAVES. 

ANTI-SLAVERY  PREACHING  AND  SCHOOLS. 

Before  the  modern  agitation  of  the  anti-slavery  question  a  few 
Southern  white  ministers,  and  occasionally  even  religious  bodies,  had 
uttered  noble  words  against  slavery.  Here  and  there  also,  churches 
were  formed,  principally  Moravian,  excluding  slaveholders ;  but 
these  utterances  and  organizations  were  few  and  uninfluential.  The 
American  Missionary  Association  has  the  distinction  of  beginning  the 


6 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


first  decided  efforts  while  slavery  existed,  for  the'education  and  reli¬ 
gious  instruction  of  the  people  of  the  South,  on  an  avowedly  anti¬ 
slavery  basis.  The  history  of  these  efforts  is  full  of  interest. 

Rev.  John  G.  Fee  was  the  pioneer  in  this  movement.  A  Kentuck¬ 
ian  by  birth,  the  son  of  a  slaveholder,  disinherited  by  his  father  on 
account  of  his  anti-slavery  principles,  preaching^under  the  commis¬ 
sion  of  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  but  withdrawing  from  its  i)at- 
ronage  because  dissatisfied  with  its  position  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
he  collected  a  church  of  non -slaveholders,  and  applied  to  the  Ameri- 


[1852.  MR.  FEE’S  “OLD  GLADE  MEETING-HOUSE.”  1874. 


can  Missionary  Association  for  a  commission.  Mr.  Fee  was  then  in 
the  vigor  of  young  manhood,  of  sanguine  temperament,  and,  as  his 
subsequent  history  has  abundantly  shown,  of  unflinching  courage 
and  great  moderation  under  trials.  The  Association  was  ready  to 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION 


7 


welcome  such  a  man,  and  gave  him  a  commission  dated  October 
lOtli,  1848.  A  colporteur,  an  elder  in  Mr.  Fee’s  church,  was  employ¬ 
ed  at  the  same  time  to  distribute  Bibles  and  tracts  among  all  classes, 
while  and  black,  bond  and  free. 

INlr.  Fee’s  labors  were  quite  abundant.  He  preached  in  many 


THE  FIRST  COLLEGE  BUILDING,  BEREA,  KY. 


places,  organized  another  non-slaveholding  church,  and,  in  spitfe  ot 
some  annoyances,  was  happy  in  his  work  and  quite  successful.  Sun¬ 
day-schools  were  established  and  day-schools  begun.  The  beginnings 
were  made  of  what  has  since  become  Berea  College. 

In  March,  1851,  the  Association  commissioned  Rev.  Daniel  Worth 


8 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


fis  a  missionary  in  North-Carolina.  He,  too,  was  a  native  of  the  State 
in  which  he  labored,  and  had  been  a  magistrate  in  the  county.  He 
preached  to  sb:  feeble  non-slaveholding  churches,  but  his  labors  were 
not  confined  to  them.  He  visited  many  parts  of  the  State,  and  revi¬ 
vals  attended  his  ministry. 

The  next  year  the  Association  appointed  three  missionaries  for 
Kansas,  and  others  soon  followed  to  share  the  trials  and  meet  the 
dangers  attendant  on  the  efforts  to  settle  that  State  with  free  men,  and 
to  plant  there  a  free  Gospel. 

Thus  did  the  Association,  at  every  accessible  point,  endeavor  to 
preach  the  Gospel  in  the  South,  peacefully  where  it  could,  under  per¬ 
secution,  if  it  must.  In  1855,  Mr.  Fee,  reenforced  by  three  other 
missionaries  and  three  colporteurs,  had  given  himself  to  a  wider  range 
of  effort,  employing  his  pen  and. engaging  in  discussions  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  slavery.  Slavery,  ever  vigilant,  saw  the  danger  and  was 
aroused.  The  first  indication  of  this  was  in  Garrard  county,  Ky., 
where  a  mob  was  made  to  take  the  place  of  a  discussion,  with,  how¬ 
ever,  no  favorable  results  to  the  patriarchal  institution.  Mr.  Fee  thus 
describes  the  scene : 

“  Preparations  had  been  made  for  a  discussion  with  a  young  lawyer.  He  had  actually 
entered  upon  it  and  made  his  opening  speech  at  one  of  my  previous  appointments.  I 
went  at  the  time  appointed,  with  a  brother  in  the  church,  expecting  a  pleasant  debate. 
My  opponent,  at  the  dictate  of  his  masters,  declined  any  further  discussion,  violated  his 
promise  to  maintain  liberty  of  speech,  and  joined  a  meeting  (or  mob)  which  passed 
resolutions  against  my  further  preaching  in  the  neighborhood,  all  at  the  time  unknown 
to  me  or  my  friends.  When  I  went,  I  found  the  accustomed  good  and  attentive  audi¬ 
ence  absent,  (expecting  no  discussion,)  and  a  lawless  band  of  wicked,  profane  men 
(about  forty)  in  their  stead.  They  presented  their  resolutions,  accusing  me  of  rebelling 
against  law,  teaching  doctrines  immoral  and  tending  to  violations  of  chastity,  and  in¬ 
sisting  that  I  must  desist  from  preaching  there,  adding,  ‘  This  is  peremptory.’  In  the 
company  were  one  preacher  and  ten  professors  of  religion,  as  I  was  assured  by  an  aged 
member  of  the  Baptist  church,  at  whose  house  the  meetings  had  been  held.  I  demand¬ 
ed  to  be  brought  before  law  tribunals,  if  I  had  violated  law.  If  I  was  teaching  error  I 
asked  some  lawyer,  doctor,  or  preacher,  or  any  half-dozen  of  them,  to  appear  before  the 
people  and  show  it,  and  let  me  have  a  chance  of  reply.  They  replied,  ‘  We  want  no  dis- 
cu^Mn  ;  it  only  does  injury 

“  They  then  demanded  that  I  should  promise  not  to  preach  any  more  there.  I  re¬ 
fused  to  thus  pledge  mj^self,  telling  them  I  should  be  treacherous  to  God,  to  my  own 
soul,  and  to  their  highest  interest  if  I  should  do  so,  and  that  they  would  really  regard 
me  in  that  light.  They  then  demanded  that  I  should  leave  that  house,  threatening  vio¬ 
lence  if  I  did  not.  I  again  refused,  saying  I  should  do  no  one  thing  that  had  the 
appearance  of  retreating  or  surrendering  a  right.  iThey  swore  I  should ;  took  me  by 
force,  put  me  on  my  horse,  then  with  boards  and  sticks  forced  my  horse  along,  pouring 
upon  me  vile  abuse  and  constant  threats  of  violence.  Then  it  was  that  I  felt  the  force 
of  the  words  uttered  against  Christ,  my  Saviour :  ‘Away  with  him  !  away  with  him  !’ 
In  many  respects  this  was  to  me  a  most  trying  occasion.  I  regretted  it  because  of  the 
effect  upon  the  minds  of  many  friends  who  were  just  beginning  to  lend  a  favorable  ear. 
Yet  to  me  it  has  been  a  blessing.  It  has  driven  me  nearer  to  God  my  strength.  It  has 
given  me  sxtx:h  sxjmpathy  with  Christ  as  I  had  not  before,  and  could  not  have  had  other¬ 
wise.” 


« 


.  AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION.  0 

The  next  year  came  tlie  crisis  in  Kansas.  Forays  were  made  into 
the  territory  by  infuriated  men,  under  unprincipled  leaders,  from 
Missouri;  ITnited  States  troops,  under  the  lead  of  marshals,  were 
arrestinoj  citizens  for  no  crime  but  that  of  protecting  themselves,  their 
families,  and  their  property;  and  hordes  of  ruffians  were  prowling 
over  the  country,  abusing,  robbing,  seizing,  and  dragging  away 
peaceful  inhabitants.  It  was  truly  a  reign  of  terror.  The  lives  of 
our  missionaries  were  providentially  spared.  Their  escape  was 
markable.  Rev.  Mr.  Adair,  one  of  the  number,  wrote,  under  date  of 
October  1st,  1856 : 

“lam  now  where  I  have  fled  from  the  tyrant  Pierce  and  his  ‘  Border  Ruflflans.’  They 
seek  to  shed  my  blood.  They  have  shot  do^vn  a  nephew  of  mine,  who  happened  to  be 
in  the  road  near  my  house.  ,  .  .  This  was  soon  followed  by  the  murder  of  a  cousin 

of  mine,  an  invalid  Christian  man,  who  was  near  and^  tried  to  escape ;  he  fled  to  the 
woods,  two  horsemen  pursued  him,  and  shot  him.  Another  man,  near  by,  was  badly 
wounded.  ...  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  my  feelings  while  I  lay  concealed, 
much  less  the  feelings  I  had  when,  late  at  night,  I  got  help,  and  with  a  lantern  in  hand 
went  to  the  woods,  found  the  dead  body  of  my  cousin,  and  brought  it  home  on  the 
Sabbath.  May  God  have  mercy  on  the  murderers,  th%  know  not  what  they  do  !  .  .  . 

My  children  are  in  constant  fear,  but  my  wife  is  not  in  a  situation  to  leave,  nor  could  I 
leave  her  alone.  Do  pray  for  us.” 

Mr.  Adair  was  connected  by  marriage  with  the  celebrated  John 
Bi*owd,  and  the  nephew  here  mentioned  was  the  old  hero’s  son.  This 
murder  was  one  of  the  series  of  events  that  led  to  the  raid  at  Har¬ 
per’s  Ferry,  and  thus  hastened  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion. 

The  year  1858  brought  another  mob  upon  Mr.  Fee  and  his  fellow- 
laborer,  Jones,  a  colporteur  who  accompanied  him,  and  who,  as  it 
turned  out,  was  the  only  sufferer  of  physical  violence.  A  graphic 
pen  sketches  the  scene  : 

“  While  Brother  Fee  was  preaching,  thirty  or  forty  armed  men  rode  up,  and  sent  one 
of  their  number  into  the  house  to  demand  that  he  should  desist.  He  replied,  that  he 
was  peaceably  exercising  his  constitutional  right,  and  requested  the  person  to  be  seat¬ 
ed  until  he  had  finished  preaching.  The  messenger  returned  to  his  company,  who  then 
rushed  in  and  seized  Brother  Fee  and  Brother  Jones  ;  they  tried  to  extort  from  Bro- 
tlier  Fee  a  promise  that  he  would  never  return,  threatening  to  duck  him  in  the  river 
till  there  was  no  breath  left  in  him.  Failing  in  getting  a  pledge,  they  mounted  their 
horses,  one  of  them  taking  Brother  Jones  up  behind  him,  and  rode  about  two  miles  to 
tlie  river,  and  descended  into  a  dark,  lonely  ravine  upon  the  bank.  At  the  foot  they 
halted,  and  made  another  eflbrt  to  induce  Brother  Fee  to  promise  to  leave  that  part  of 
the  country,  and  not  return.  He  at  length  got  their  attention  and  commenced  talking 
to  them,  telling  them  he  could  not  make  a  pledge  that  might  conflict  with  future  duty. 
Said  he :  ‘It  is  not  impossible  that  some  of  you  may  yet  want  me  to  come  and  pray  with 
you,  and  I  should  hate  to  be  under  a  pledge  not  to  do  it.’  He  also  told  them,  if  he  did 
this  from  fear  of  their  violence,  they  themselves  would  not  respect  him,  and  reminded 
them  of  that  greater  meeting,  when  they  all  must  be  assembled  to  give  an  account  of 
‘the  deeds  done  in  the  body.’  At  length  one  of  them  said,  they  did  not  come  there 
to  hear  a  sermon;  they  must  attend  to  their  business.  They  then  proceeded  a  little 
way  further  to  a  thicket  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  They  here  ordered  Brother  Jones  to 


10 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


strip;  he  pulled  off  his  coat  and  vest,  and  stopped.  They  jeered  him  and  told  him  to 
‘  strip  his  linen.’  They  removed  all  his  clothing  except  his  shirt.  Then  bending  him 
over,  they  turned  that  up,  and  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  gang  proceeded  to  whip  him 
upon  the  naked  back  with  a  sycamore  switch  or  switches — these  grow  large  and  heavy. 
Ever}’  blow  left  its  mark.  His  wounds,  as  seen  afterward  by  others,  are  of  no  slight 
eJiaracter.  Brother  Fee  expostulated  with  them,  but  in  vain.  When  they  had  satisfied 
their  cruelty  upon  Brother  Jones,  the  man  who  plied  the  whip,  approaching  Brother 
Fee,  told  him,  if  he  would  not  promise  never  to  return,  he  should  be  treated  five  times 
worse.  Well,  he  told  them,  he  would  meet  his  suffering  then.  They  compelled  him  to 
remove  a  part  of  his  clothing.  He  knelt  to  receive  the  blows,  and  then,  for  some  un¬ 
accountable  reason,  they  desisted  without  striking  a  blow.  They  then  ordered  them  to 
start  immediately  for  their  houses,  and,' remounting,  they  escorted  them  aboutifive 
miles,  and  there  left  them.  They  came  some  eight  miles,  and  put  up  for  the  night  at 
the  house  of  a  friend,  where  Brother  Fee  preached  to  the  family.  He  says  he  never  felt 
more  in  the  spirit  of  preaching,  and  never  spent  a  happier  night  than  the  one  which 
followed.  Brother  Jones  suffered  greatly  under  his  cruel  whipping.” 

At  length  came  the  raid  of  John  Brown,  (October,  1859,)  the  uni¬ 
versal  terror  of  the  South,  and  the  expulsion  of  all  our  missionaries 
from  Kentucky  and  North-Carolina.  The  onset  began  at  Berea, 
Kentucky.  The  school  at  this  place  was  prosperous.  A  number  of 
families,  some  from  Ohio,  had  gathered  here  to  aid  in  building  up  the 
institution  and  the  cause  of  freedom.  Mr.  Fee  Avas  absent  at  the 
North,  soliciting  funds  for  the  school,  when  a  committee  of  sixty-two 
persons,  appointed  at  a  public  meeting  held  at  Richmond,  the  county 
seat,  came  to  Berea  and  Avarned  the  principal  men  to  leave  the  place 
in  ten  days.  No  disrespectful  language  was  used,  but  it  Avas  said 
that  force  Avould  be  employed  if  the  Avarning  Avas  not  heeded.  On 
the  next  day,  two  of  the  proscribed  citizens  called  on  the  Governor 
of  the  State,  Av^ho  assured  them  that  he  could  not  protect  them  ;  and 
the  30th  of  December  thirty-six  persons  reached  Cincinnati,  exiles  for 
the  crime  of  holding  and  teaching  anti-slaA’ery  sentiments  ! 

In  North-Carolina,  the  useful  labors  of  Rev.  Daniel  Worth  were 
also  stojiped,  and  himself  forced  from  the  State  by  these  first  throes 
of  the  coming  earthquake  of  rebellion.  He  Avrote  from  NeAv^-Salera, 
N.  C.,  December  21st,  1859  : 

“  The  prospect  is,  that  we  shaU  have  times  of  trial  here  before  long.  Since  the 
unfortunate  affair  at  Harper’s  Ferry,  the  country  is  in  a  tremendous  ferment. 
Threatenings  reach  me  from  various  quarters,  and  I  should  not  he  surprised  if  met  by 
a  mob  at  my  next  appointment.  I  do  not  expect  to  leave  my  work  except  compelled 
by  brute  force.  I  know  arrangements  are  making  to  meet  me  with  a  mob  at  my  next 
appointment — Sabbath,  the  25th  :  I  am  calm,  peaceful,  confiding  in  my  God.” 

He  was  arrested,  and  had  his  preliminary  examination  at  Greens¬ 
boro.  He  pleaded  his  own  defense.  A  correspondent  of  The  JTew- 
York  Herald  gives  this  description  of  him  : 

“  The  Rev.  Daniel  Worth  is  a  large,  portly  man,  with  a  fine  head,  an  intellectual  and 
expressive  countenance,  and  a  large,  commanding  eye.  He  looks  enough  like  Burton, 


AMEillCAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


11 


tlic  comedian,  to  be  liis  twin  brother.  .  .  .  He  is  fluent  in  speech,  and  the  general 

style  and  manner  of  his  speaking  are  calculated  to  win  attention.  He  did  not  appear  to 
be  at  all  embarrassed  or  frightened  at  his  position,  but,  on  the  contrary,  expressed  his 
ideas  with  boldness  and  fearlessness.”  i 

He  was  indicted  and  remanded  to  prison.  His  trial  began  Marcli 
50tb,  1860,  occupying  one  whole  day  and  nearly  a  wliole  night.  The 
verdict  was  guilty  ;  the  sentence,  a  year’s  imprisonment.  On  liis  ap¬ 
peal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  he  Avas  released  on  bonds  for  $3,000.  He 
came  North,  and  the  funds  were  raised. 

Rev.  A.  Vestal,  the  other  missionary  of  the  American  Missionary 
Association  in  North-Carolina,  Avas  compelled  to  leave.  In  these 
and  other  Avays,  Sodom  AA^as  prepared  for  the  doom  of  fire  and  blood  ! 


AMONG  THE  FREEDMEN. 


BEGINNINGS. 

The  Union  armies,  on  entering  the  South,  found  a  surprising  thirst 
for  knowledge  among  the  negroes;  and  chaplains  and  Christian  sol¬ 
diers  became,  to  a  limited  extent,  their  teachers.  But  the  first  system¬ 
atic  effort  ^for  their  relief  and  instruction  was  made  by  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Missionary  Association ;  and  the  honor  of  the  initial  steps  is  due 
to  LeAvis  Tappan,  Esq.,  then  its  treasurer.  Tliis  gentleman  had  been 
identified  Avith  the  anti-slavery  movement  from  the  beginning,  had 
endured  his  share  of  obloquy  and  j^ersecution,  and  was  one  of  the 
originators  of  the  Association,  whose  treasurer  he  had  been  from  the 
beginning,  giving  his  services  gratuitously.  He  began  the  movement 
for  the  Freedmen  by  a  correspondence  Avith  General  Butler,  Avhose 
famous  dictum,  (May  2'7th,  1861,)  pronouncing  the  escaping  fugitives 
“  contraband  of  war,”  gave  them  safety  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  pre¬ 
pared  the  way  for  relief  and  schools  from  the  North.  Large  num¬ 
bers  of  them  were  gathered  at  Fortress  Monroe  and  Hampton,  and, 
in  consequence  of  the  burning  of  the  latter  place,  they  Avere  homeless 
and  destitute.  Mr.  Tappan  wrote  to  General  Butler,  (August  3d,) 
making  inquiries  and  suggestions  as  to  the  means  of  relief.  General 
Butler  replied,  (August  10th,)  showing  the  necessity  for  the  colored 
people  to  remain  South,  and  welcoming  any  efforts  in  their  behalf. 

The  Association  commissioned  Rev.  L.  C.  Lockwood  as  a  mission¬ 
ary,  and  sent  him  to  make  investigations.  He  reached  Hampton 
September  3d,  called  immediately  upon  General  Wool,  who  approved 


12 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


of  the  enterprise,  and  gave  him  authority  to  enter  upon  the  work 
immediately.  In  the  evening,  while  conversing  on  the  piazza  of  the 
hotel,  he  overheard  music,  and  following  the  sound,  came  to  a  long, 
low  building,  just  outside  the  entrance  of  the  Fortress,  where  he 
found  a  number  of  colored  people  assembled  for  prayer.  They 
hailed  his  coming  as  the  answer  to  their  prayers,  and  the  assurance 
that  ‘‘  the  good  Lord  ”  had  some  great  things  in  store  for  them  and 
their  people.  The  next  day,  arrangements  were  made  for  meetings 
in  several  places,  the  house  of  Ex-President  Tyler  being  one  of  them. 
A  Sabbath-school  was  opened  in  that  house  on  the  15th — a  new  use 
for  that  mansion,  and  a  new  era  for  the  colored  people.  Other  Sun¬ 
day-schools  soon  followed. 

But  the  great  event  in  Mr.  Lockwood’s  mission,  though  its  signi¬ 
ficance  was,  perhaps,  not  then  suspected  by  him,  was  the  establish¬ 
ment,  on  the  I'Zth  of  September,  1861,  of  the  first  day-school  for  the 
.Freedmen.  The  school  was  opened  in  a  small  brown  house,  near  the 
large  building  known  as  the  “  Seminary,”  where  once  the  proud 
daughters  of  the  South  were  educated.  The  first  teacher  of  that 
humble  school  was  Mrs.  Mary  S.  Peake,  an  amiable  and  intelligent 
Christian  woman.  Her  mother  was  a  free  colored  woman,  very  light ; 
her  father  a  white[man — an  Englishman  of  rank  and  culture.  Mrs. 
Peake  taught  the  school  with  great  success  for  a  few  months,  when 
failing  health  compelled  her  to  relinquish  it,  and  she  was  soon  called 
to  her  rest,  which  she  entered  with  peaceful  trust  in  the  Redeemer. 

We  must  linger  for  a  moment  over  that  school  and  its  teacher. 
That  little  school  was  the  harbinger  of  the  hundreds  that  have  fol¬ 
lowed,  and  of  the  thousands  that  are  yet  to  come,  that  are  to  give  an 
intelligent  Christian  culture  to  the  colored  race  in  America.  The 
spot  where  that  house  stood  was  on  the  coast  where,  two  hundred 
and  forty-one  years  before,  the  first  slave-ship  entered  the  line  of  the 
American  Continent,  and  planted  the  germ  of  that  baleful  upas-tree, 
so  fruitful  of  woe  and  blood  to  both  races ;  and  that  woman,  the 
representative  of  both,  though  by  the  bitter  logic  of  slavery  classed 
with  the  oppressed,  will  be  remembered  ages  hence,  as  the  teacher 
of  the  first  colored  school  in  the  slave  States  that  had  legal  authority 
and  the  protection  of  the  national  guns.  That  first  slave-ship  and 
Mrs.  Peake  will  hereafter  be  contrasted  as  the  initiators  of  two  widely 
different  eras ;  a  barbarism  and  a  civilization. 

These  beginnings  were  followed  by  other  schools  and  with  reli¬ 
gious  services.  The  Executive  Committee,  soon  feeling  the  influence 
of  foreshadowed  events,  withdrew  largely  its  Home  Missionaries  from 
the  North-West,  and  concentrated  the  energies  of  the  Association 
more  fully  on  the  new  field  opening  at  the  South. 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


13 


ENLARGEMENT. 

Enlargement  of  effort  among  the  Freedmen  came.  The  capture 
of  the  Port  Boyal  Islands,  S.  C.,  (November,  1861,)  gave  the  new  im¬ 
pulse.  General  T.  W.  Sherman  and  Commodore  Du  Pont,  on  taking 
possession  of  these  Islands,  from  which  the  whites  had  fled,  found 
themselves  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  ignorant,  half-clad,  half-famished 
negroes,  numbering  about  eight  thousand.  Their  condition  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  Government  and  of  the  benevolent  at  the  North. 
Eftorts  were  made  for  their  relief,  and  for  the  establishment  of  schools. 

freedmen’s  aid  societies. 

The  “  Boston  Education  Society”  was  formed  February  7th,  and 
the  “  Freedmen’s  Relief  Association,”  New-York,  February  22d. 
On  the  3d  of  March,  52  teachers,  missionaries,  and  superintendents 
(40  men  and  12  women)  sailed  from  New-York  to  Port  Royal — a 
large  share  of  them  being  under  the  commission  of  the  Boston  Society. 
They  were  all  mainly  employed  at  first  in  the  organization  of  labor 
and  in  relief  of  physical  want.  Other  teachers  soon  followed,  and, 
in  June,  86  persons  were  reported  in  the  field — a  Society  in  Phila¬ 
delphia,  called  the  “Port  Royal  Commission,”  contributed  funds, 
provisions,  and  laborers. 

These  Relief  Societies  were  not  formed  in  opposition  to  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Missionary  Association.  On  the  contrary,  its  officers  were  the 
main  originators  of  the  New-York  Society.  The  first  meeting  in 
New-York  was  held  in  the  Park  Hotel,  pursuant  to  a  call  with  three 
names' attached — that  of  Rev.  M.  French,  and  of  L.  Tappan  and  G. 
Whipple,  the  Treasurer  and  Secretary  of  the  Association.  Mr. 
Tappan  was  chairman  of  the  meeting.  The  impression  then  was, 
among  the  friends  of  the  Association,  that  the  emergency  required 
some  further  instrumentalities — temporary  perhaps  in  duration,  and 
devoted  largely  to  physical  relief,  and  likely  to  enlist  a  constituency 
that  the  Association  would  not  then  reach.  These  Societies  multi¬ 
plied  rapidly,  others  being  formed  in  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  Cleveland, 
and  elsewhere  throughout  the  North,  and  their  claims  and  labors 
became  so  conflicting,  that  efforts  were  made  for  unity.  After  many 
endeavors  and  frequent  changes,  the  various  branches  were  finally 
concentrated  (May,  1866)  into  the  “American  Freedmen’s  Union 
Commission.”  After  this  event,  the  American  Missionary  Association 
and  the  Commission  were  recognized,  by  the  Freedmen’s  Bureau  and 
the  country,  as  the  two  central  institutions  in  the  Freedmen’s  work. 
But  the  Union  Commission  had  scarcely  been  consummated  ere  dis¬ 
integration  began.  The  Cincinnati  Brandi,  the  oldest  of  the  Western 


14 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Societies,  withdrew  and  united  with  the  American  Missionary  Asso¬ 
ciation  in  October,  1866,  and  the  Cleveland  Branch  in  January,  1867. 
The  Chicago  office  closed  in  July,  1868.  Thus  the  American  Mis¬ 
sionary  Association  was  left  as  the  sole  national  organization,  actually 
occupying  the  whole  ground.  These  Aid  Societies  had  an  effective 
and,  in  many  respects,  a  very  useful  career.  Their  influence  was 
somewhat  impaired,  in  some  of  the  Branches,  by  a  seeming  want  of 
sympathy  with  Evangelical  labors  among  the  colored  people. 

The  Association  continued  to  enlarge  its  operations  at  the  South. 
During  the  year  1862  its  schools  and  religious  efforts  were  extended 
at  Hampton  and  vicinity,  the  distribution  of  a  large  quantity  of 
clothing  being  a  part  of  its  work.  The  old  court-house,  once  the  seat 
of  slaveholding  justice,  but  which  the  rebels  had  recently  burned, 
was  fitted  up,  and  a  school  of  “  contrabands”  was  opened  in  it — 
another  mark  of  a  new  era  in  that  celebrated  locality.  The  Associa¬ 
tion  opened  a  school  at  ISTorfolk,  founded  two  schools  at  Newport 
News,  and  took  its  share  in  the  work  on  the  Port  Royal  Islands, 
sending  there  ministers,  teachers,  Bibles,  and  school-books.  In  May, 
it  began  a  mission  among  the  colored  people  who  crowded  Washing, 
ton  City,  and,  before  the  year  closed,  it  had  one  at  Cairo,  III, 
where,  from  the  opening  Mississippi,  these  people  had  begun  to  ga¬ 
ther. 

EMANCIPATION - THE  WIDE  DOOR  OPENED.  ;; 

The  Proclamation  of  Emancipation  was  dated  January  1st,  1863. 
It  gave  legal  freedom  to  all  slaves  in  the  nation,  except  in  certain 
specified  localities,  yet  it  actually  freed  none  who  were  not  reached 
by  our  armies.  But  it  settled  forever  the  question  of  the  safety  of 
the  fugitives  escaping  to  our  lines — and  they  came  by  thousands. 
Being  destitute  of  all  things,  they  were  gathered  and  cared  for  as 
best  they  could  be ;  in  the  East,  they  were  often  located  on  aban¬ 
doned  plantations,  and  at  the  West,  they  were  congregated  in 
“  camps.”  Their  physical  destitution  was  no  more  manifest  than 
was  their  eagerness  for  learning.  In  the  midst  of  pinching  want, 
amounting  almost  to  starvation,  they  seemed  more  anxious  for 
schools  than  for  food.  This  double  demand  made  a  strong  appeal  to 
Northern  philanthropy.  A  sense  of  justice  to  the  long-oppressed 
slave  awoke  an  enthusiasm  second  only  to  that  which  impelled  the 
soldiers  to  enter  the  army.  Hundreds  of  ladies,  refined  and  educated, 
many  of  them  teachers  in  Northern  schools,  volunteered  their  servi¬ 
ces  j  clothing  and  supplies  were  offered  in  large  quantities;  Freed- 
men’s  societies,  as  we  have  seen,  were  multiplied ;  religious  denomi¬ 
nations  sent  ministers  and  teachers  to  various  points;  the  Bible, 


AMEEICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


15 


Tract,  and  other  societies  becnine  enlisted ;  and  individuals  sought 
the  field  and  worked  alone. 

The  American  Missionary  Association  rapidly  extended  its  work. 
Its  missionary  labors  were  increased,  and  its  schools  brought  into 
greater  perfection.  At  Norfolk,  the  solitary  school  of  the  previous 
year  gave  place  to  an  enlargement  beyond  precedent.  In  April, 
a  missionary  was  sent  there  to  open  schools  in  the  two  colored 
churches.  At  the  first  session  of  the  day-school,  held  in  one  of 
the  churches,  about  350  scholars  came,  and  300  others  in  the  eve¬ 
ning.  On  the  third  day,  there  were  550  at  the  day-school,  and  500 
others  in  the  evening.  The  school  was  now  divided,  a  j^art  going  to 
the  other  church.  Fifteen  colored  assistants  were  engaged,  and  the 
enero-ies  of  all  the  teachers  taxed  to  the  utmost.  The  number  in  the 


JAMES’S  PLANTATION  SCHOOL,  NOETn-CARQLINA. 


day-school  was  as  high  as  1200,  of  whom  25  only  wei'e  adults;  but, 
in  the  night-schools,  after  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  400  grown  people 
were  seen,  making  half  of  the  800  in  attendance.  In  the  three  Sab¬ 
bath-schools  there  were  1500,  of  Avhom  500  were  adults.  At  Ports¬ 
mouth,  also,  the  schools  were  enlarged,  and  missionary  labors  were 
attended  with  success. 

« 

On  many  abandoned  plantations  around  Norfolk,  occupied  by  color¬ 
ed  people,  the  Association  planted  schools  and  preached  the  Gospel. 
The  estate  of  Ex-Governor  Wise  was  thus  occupied,  and  his  man¬ 
sion  was  used  as  a  school-house  and  a  home  for  teachers  of  colored 
people. 

Thousands  of  Freedmen  were  gathered  at  Newbern  and  other 
places  in  Ncrth-Carolina,  ‘‘who  had  sought  freedom  at  any  price, 
and  obtained  it  at  the  cost  of  their  all.”  They  were  destitute  of 


16 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


every  thing,  yet  eager  to  be  taught.  On  Roanoke  Island,  a  colony 
under  Chaplain  James,  laid  out  a  village  in  a  large,  well-wooded 
ti'act,  and  soon  the  axes  were  ringing  merrily,  mingled  with  the 
songs  of  happy  men  and  women.  To  Newbern  the  Association  sent 
two  teachers,  and  to  Roanoke  Island  one. 

The  success  of  our  arms]  on  the  Mississippi,  culminating  in  the 
surrender  of  Vicksburg,  July  4th,  opened  a  wide  door  of  usefulness 
and  charity,  which  the  Association  entered  promptly  and  efficiently. 
A  missionary  was  sent  to  St.  Louis,  who  preached  and  ministered  to 
the  destitute,  and  opened  schools.  But  the  larger  work  was  in  the 
“  camps.”  Missionaries  and  teachers  were  sent  to  Columbus,  Ky., 
Cairo,  Ill.,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  President  Island,  and  Camps  Fisk  and 
Shiloh.  These  laborers  had  a  blessed  yet’trying  work  in  teaching  the 
schools,  visiting  from  hut  to  hut,  and  in  preaching  the  Gospel. 

In  the  whole  field,  the  Association  reported  at  its  annual  meeting, 
October,  1863,  eighty-three  ministers  and  teachers,  and  nineteen  mon¬ 
itors  or  assistants. 

STEADY  PEOGEESS. 

This  progress,  in  1864,  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  Associa¬ 
tion  employed  250  missionaries  and  teachers,  instead  of  83,  the  year 
before.  This  force  was  scattered  over  the  field  held  by  our  armies 
beinsc  most  numerous  in  Virginia  and  along  the  line  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. 

Colored  men  were  now  enrolled  in  the  Union  army,  and  one  of 
tlie  most  interesting  features  of  the  work  was  their  education.  Mr. 
Fee,  who  was  once  more  in  Kentucky  as  a  missionary,  was  for  a  time 
,at  Camp  Nelson,  with  a  corps  of  efficient  teachers,  where  four  thou¬ 
sand  colored  troops  were  stationed.  He  said  that,  riding  through  the 
camp,  six  miles  in  circumference,  he  saw  several  companies  resting 
from  drill.  Quite  a  number  were  poring  over  their  primers,  or  First 
Readers,  but  not  a  card  was  to  be  seen.  In  the  four  thousand  colored 
men  there  he  had  not  seen  one  intoxicated,  though  he  had  seen  white 
men  drunk.  At  night,  the  camps  of  these  colored  men  were  scenes  of 
continual  prayer  and  praise,  with  frequent  preaching. 

The  condition  of  most  of  the  colored  people,  driven  from  their 
homes,  with  neither  food  nor  raiment,  was  pitiable  in  the  extreme, 
especially  at  the  West.  Hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  perished,  and  a 
'  large  share  of  the  efforts  of  the  missionaries  was  employed  in  physi¬ 
cal  relief. 

CLOSE  OF  THE  WAE - FEEEDMEN’s  BUEEAIJ - BOSTON  COUNCIL. 

The  year  1865  was  marked  by  events  of  more  than  usual  impor- 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


17 


tance  to  the  Freedmen  ;ind  the  Association.  Prominent  among  these 
was  the  close  of  the  war.  Tlie  march  of  Sherman  and  the  capture  of 
Richmond  were  followed  at  once  by  teachers  who  established  schools. 
Rev.  J.  W.  Alvord,  then  Secretary  of  the  Boston  Tract  Society,  ac¬ 
companied  Sherman’s  army,  and  opened  schools  in  Savannah  immedi¬ 
ately  ;  527  pupils  were  enrolled,  and  |I,000  contributed  by  the  negroes 
for  the  support  of  teachers.  Two  of  the  largest  of  these  schools  were  in 
“  Bryant’s  Slave  Mart,”  whose  platforms,  occupied  a  few  days  before  by 
bondmen  for  auction,  became  crowded  with  children  of  the  same 
class  learning  to  read.  These  schools  were  soon  put  under  the  care- 
of  the  Association.  In  like  manner  schools  trod  closely  in  the  steps 
of  the  United  States  troops  in  entering  Wilmington.  Mr.  Coan, 
representing  the  Association,  was  there  with  teachers.  He  thus  de¬ 
scribes  the  scene : 

“  By  appointment  I  met  the  ehildren  at  the  church  vestry  the  next  morning.  They 
were  to  come  at  nine  o’clock:  by  seven,  the  street  was  blocked,  the  yard  was  full. 
Parents  eager  to  gct‘dese  yer  children’s  name  tooken,’  came  pulling  them  through 
the  crowd  :  ‘Please,  sir,  puts  down  deseyer.’  ‘I  wants  dis  gal  of  mine  to  jine;  and 
dat  yer  hoy  hes  got  no  parents,  and  I  jes  done  and  brot  him.’  While  these  things  were 
transpiring,  a  group  of  hoys,  stout,  hale,  and  hearty,  made  a  flank  movement,  got 
around  in  front  of  father,  or  mother,  whose  countenances  told  of  fears  that  they  might 
not  he  in  time  to  enroU  their  children’s  names.” 

“  The  same  evidences  of  joy  inexpressible  were  manifest  at  the  organization  of  evening 
schools  for  adults.  About  one  thousand  pupils  reported  themselves  in  less  than  one 
week  after  our  arrival  in  Wilmington.  .  .  There  are  already  connected  with  the  day- 
schools  full  two  thousand  persons  of  different  ages.” 

\ 

Like  scenes,  with  like  joy,  followed  the  capture  of  Richmond, 
Charleston,  Augusta,  etc. 

The  FreedmerCs  Bureau  was  created  by  Act  of  Congress,  March 
8d,  1865 — an  institution  demanded  alike  by  the  wants  of  the  Freedmen 
and  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  We  recognize  the  wise  and 
kind  orderings  of  Providence,  in  guiding  to  the  fitting  choice  of  Major- 
General  O.  O.  Howard,  the  Christian  man,  the  indefatigable  worker, 
and  the  impartial  friend  of  white  and  black,  as  the  Chief  Commissioner. 
Under  his  administration,  this  Bureau  was  to  the  Freedmen  a  wall  of 
defense  in  danger,  a  source  of  prudent  supply  in  time  of  sore  need, 
and  an  efficient  helper  in  the  paths  of  knowledge  ;  to  the  country,  it 
was  a  wise  expenditure  in  payment  of  the  vast  debt  due  to  the  colored 
man,  and  a  needed  provision  for  the  culture  'of  those  now  intrusted 
with  the  responsibilities  of  citizenship.  The  amount  distributed  by 
the  Bureau  was  112,965,395.40. 

A  National  Council  of  Congregational  Churches  assembled  in 
Boston  in  June.  Among  other  liberal  devisings,  it  recommended  to 
the  churches  to  raise  $250,000  for  the  work  among  the  Freedmen, 
and  designated  this  Association  as  the  organization  providentially 
2 


18 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


fitted  for  that  work.  This  generous  indorsement  induced  the  Asso¬ 
ciation  to  enlarge  its  administrative  force,  and  to  prepare  itself  for 
still  wider  operations  in  the  field.  The  number  of  its  teachers  had 
risen  to  320. 

The  Association  was,  from  the  first,  unsectarian.  It  had  employed 
the  teachers,  and  sought  the  cooperation,  of  all  evangelical  denomi¬ 
nations.  The  action  of  the  Boston  Council  did  not  change  this  un¬ 
sectarian  basis. 

ASYLUMS — AID  FROM  ABROAD - JIORMAL  SCHOOLS. 

The  marked  features  in  the  history  of  the  Association  in  1866  were 
its  success  in  raising  a  little  more  than  the  $250,000  voted  by  the 
Boston  Council,  the  founding  of  two  Orphan  Asylums,  the  help  re¬ 
ceived  from  abroad,  and  the  beginning  of  Normal  Schools. 

The  Orphan  Asylums  originated  in  the  sad  condition  of  so  many 
colored  children  who  had  been  deprived  of  their  parents  by  the  war, 
and  by  the  ravages  of  the  small-pox,  which  prevailed  most  fearfully. 
One  of  these  scenes  is  thus  sketched  by  an  eye-witness  : 

“Just  across  the  river  there  were  a  father,  mother,  and  four  children;  the  children 
were  all  small,  the  oldest  not  above  ten  years.  The  parents  sickened  and  died  a  few 
weeks  since.  The  children  were  left  alone  and  lived  alone.  They  were  attacked 
by  the  small-pox.  Two  days  ago  one  of  them  died,  and  the  corpse  is  still  lying  in 
the  room  where  the  living  children  are ;  another  of  the  children  is  lying  by  the  side 
of  tlie  corpse,  sick  with  the  small-pox ;  the  other  two  are  ailing  and  will  soon  be 
down;  there  they  are,  the  dead  and  the  living — the  dead  unburied,  the  living 
stai’ving,  naked,  sick,  and  none  to  care  for  them.  The  dead  one  was  soon  buried, 
and  the  living  are  in  the  small-pox  hospital.  What  shall  be  done  with  these 
little  children  when  they  come  from  the  hospital?  ‘Bind  them  out,’  I  hear  some 
one  say.  Yes,  but  they  must  have  a  home  imtil  a  place  for  binding  can  be  found. 
Besides,  many  of  the  orphans  are  too  small  to  be  bound  out  ;  some  are  sick,  and 
can  not  be.” 

The  first  Asylum  was  located  at  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  the  funds 
coming  as  special  gifts  from  various  donors  ;  the  second,  at  Atlanta, 
Gu.,  from  the  generous  donation  of  Hon.  I.  Washburn,  of  Worcester, 
Mass. 

AID  FROM  ABROAD. 

It  is  estimated  that  from  Great  Britain  more  than  a  million  of 
dollars  in  monej^  and  clothing  have  been  contributed,  through  various 
channels,  for  the  Freedmen. 

The  Missionary  Association  has  shared  in  the  kind  words  and  sub¬ 
stantial  help  that  have  come  from  across  the  water.  Its  representa¬ 
tives  have  been  welcomed  by  the  Congregational  Union  of  England 
and  Wales,  and  the  General  Assemblies  of  Scotland.  These  bodies 
have  adopted  resolutions  of  cordial  sympathy  with  its  evangelical 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


19 


character  and  benevolent  work.  In  response  to  these  resolutions,  the 
churches  liave  contributed  largely  in  cash  and  clothing. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  acceptableness  of  these  gifts,  and  as  samples 
of  the  rewards  which  these  generous  donors  receive,  we  give  a  few 
illustrations,  quoted  from  the  statements  of  missionaries  and  teachers. 
One  writes : 

“  With  nine  packages  of  clothing  I  received  that  splendid  lot  of  English  blankets. 
God  bless  the  donors  of  this  rich  gift,  which  will  very  soon  warm  the  bodies  of  two  or 
three  hundred  shivering  Freedmen.  It  will  do  more  than  this.  These  gifts,  in  many 
instances,  inspire  the  most  grateful  devotion  to  God,  as  well  as  love  to  men.  Last 
evening  I  hurried  away  to  a  distant  portion  of  the  city  with  three  of  these  blankets 
under  my  arm.  One  old  man,  crippled  in  the  cotton-field,  two  aged  women,  and  three 
children  lived  in  the  shed  to  which  I  directed  my  steps.  The  little  girl  was  reading  the 
Testament  by  the  firelight  to  the  rest  of  the  family.  I  knew  how  they  shivered  and 
huddled  together  these  cold  nights,  for  I  had  often  been  there.  ‘Dese  yere  blankets,’ 
said  the  choking  voice  of  the  old  man,  ‘  wiU  warm  soul  and  body.’ 

Another  says : 

“  TeU  the  good  friends  in  England  that  we  feel  grateful  for  their  kind  remembrance 
of  our  sufiering  poor.  The  blankets  (one  bale)  they  sent  us  through  your  kind  ministra¬ 
tion  have  warmed  and  comforted  at  least  four  hundred  needy  women  and  children.  I 
will  mention  a  few  cases  in  particular.  One  woman  called  on  us  for  a  blanket,  and  as 
she  appeared  destitute,  we  gave  her  one.  I  followed  her  a  few  hundred  yards  to  see 
how  she  fared.  But  O  me  !  what  a  house  !  Slabs  nailed  in  the  form  of  a  pen,  about 
eight  feet  square,  with  a  rude  fireplace  on  one  side,  and  one  bench  and  a  pail  comprised 
the  whole  furniture.  On  a  few  loose  boards,  which  served  for  a  fioor,  lay  a  pile  of  rags 
which  served  for  a  bed,  a  loose  board  answered  for  a  door,  and  open  cracks  and  corners 
supplied  the  place  of  windows  !  And  whom  do  you  think  I  found  there  ?  Two  women 
and  six  children,  two  of  them  quite  young.  There  they  were,  cold  and  huddled  up 
around  their  fire,  made  of  boards  gathered  up  here  and  there  around  the  camp.  It  was 
a  sad  sight,  and  I  trust  neither  [you  nor  the  good  friends  in  England  will  blame  me  for 
sending  them  a  second  blanket.” 

THE  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 

were  ‘the  evidence  and  demand  of  the  advancement  in  learninir  of  the 
colored  children.  Thenceforth,  the  Normal  or  training  school  W'as 
the  leading  and  most  valuable  educational  gift  of  the  North  to  the 
Freedmen,  because  it  was  the  grand  means  of  fitting  them  to  be  their 
own  educators. 

UPWARD  AS  WELL  AS  ONWARD. 

The  operations  of  the  Association  in  1867  were  marked  by  a  large 
increase  in  its  force  of  missionaries  and  teachers  among  the  Freed¬ 
men,  the  number  reaching  the  unprecedented  extent  of  528.  The 
extension  of  Normal  Schools,  the  founding  of  the  Industrial  School  at 
Hampton,  Va.,  the  efforts  at  temperance  reform,  and  the  gathering 
of  churches,  were  among  the  important  events  of  the  year. 


20 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


ASPECTS  OF  THE  WORK  IN  1868. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  Southern  whites  were  disposed  to  ac¬ 
cept  the  political  situation  in  which  the  fate  of  arms  had  placed  them. 
But  the  sudden  and  unexpected  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  lingering  hope  of  political  sympathy  at 
the  North,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  spirit  of  rebellion,  which  was 
not  dead,  but  sleeping.  This  Impulse  reached  its  greatest  intensity 
in  the  political  contests  of  this  year.  The  blacks  were  denied  em¬ 
ployment,  when  it  meant  starvation  ;  they  were  assaulted  by  mobs 
and  shot  down  in  the  streets,  when  they  and  their  white  friends 
attempted  to  assemble  in  political  meetings;  and  they  were  dragged 
from  their  homes  at  midnight  and  murdered  in  cold  blood  bv  the 
infamous  Ku  Klux  Klans — the  Thugs  of  America. 

Undeterred  by  these  dangers,  the  Association  sent  more  mission¬ 
aries  and  teachers  into  the  South  than  in  any  previous  year — the 
number  reaching  532.  They  were,  to  a  large  extent,’’ the  objects  of 
this  embittered  hatred,  but’God  mercifully  spread  his  hand  of  pro¬ 
tection  over  them,  and,  with  some  exceptions,  not  only  gave  them 
safety,  but  made  them  leaders  and  moral  supporters  of  the  people  of 
their  flocks  and  schools.-  The  schools  and  churches  were  the  pledge 
to  the  Freedmen  of  the  continued  sympathy  of  the  North  ;  they 
opened  to  them  the  doors  of  hope,  of  knowledge,  of  manhood,  and  of 
Christian  instruction. 


PERMANENT  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

These  dark  days  gradually  passed  away,  and  the  progress  of  the 
educational  work,  impeded  under  the  cloud,  became  more  rapid 
in  the  returning  light.  It  ivas  more  and  more  evident  that  this 
people  must  become  largely  their  own  educators.  Hence  the  policy 
of  the  Association,  to  form  permanent  educational  institutions  for 
them,  took  more  definite  shape.  The  teachers  were  withdrawn  from 
the  primary  schools,  in  a  great  measure ;  and  graded  and  normal 
schools,  colleges,  incipient  universities  and  theological  classes  were 
established — the  design  being  to  plant  a  school  of  high  grade  in  each 
of  the  principal  cities  or  centres  of  population,  and  one  college  or 
university  in  each  of  the  large  Southern  States. 

This][plan  has  been  steadily  pursued,  and  the  history  of  this  branch 
of  the  work  will  be  carried  forward  by  giving  more  details  respecting 
the  chartered  institutions  planted  or  supported  by  the  Association. 
A  list  of  the  other  schools,  with  statistics  of  the  number  of  pupils 
and  the  value  of  property,  will  be  added. 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


21 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

HIGHER  SCHOOLS. 

LOCATION  OF  INSTITUTIONS. 

The  right  position  of  a  college  is  "sometimes,  like  that  of  an  army 
corps,  an  assurance  of  victory.  The  institutions  of  the  A.  M.  A.  in 
the  South  are  finely  placed,  for  although  the  locations  were  sometimes 
decided  by  apparently  accidental  circumstances,  they  are  now  seen 
to  have  been  providential. 

Berea  College  is  situated  on  the  border-line  between  the  blue 
giTiss  and  mountain  regions  of  Kentucky  ;  the  former  having  a  dense 
population  of  blacks,  the  latter  of  sturdy,  loyal  whites  who  never 
were  slaveholders.  Ko  railroad  as  yet  reaches  Berea,  but  this  isola¬ 
tion  is  counterbalanced  by  the  healthful  Christian  influence  it  is 
enabled  to  exert  over  these  two  contiguous  sections,  and  especially 
in  breaking'down  the  spirit  of  caste — a  third  of  its  students  being 
white. 

Hampton  Institute  is  in  a  very  accessible,  healthy,  and  pleasant 
spot  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Virginia,  once  the  summer  resort  of  the 
aristocracy  of  the  “  Mother  State.”  Proposed  railroad  facilities  pro¬ 
mise  to  add  to  the  accessibility  and  commerciaUmportance  of  Hamp¬ 
ton. 

Fisk  University,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  has  the  advantage  of  a  central 
and  conspicuous  location  which  many  favoring  circumstances  have 
enabled  it  to  improve.  Its  new  Jubilee  Hall  will  be  a  perpetual 
inspiration  to  the  colored  people  of  Tennessee. 

Atlanta  University  is  on  a  commanding  position  in  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  cities  of  Georgia.  Converging  railroads  and  a  large 
surrounding  population^are  among  its  advantages.  The  clouds  are 
dark  over  the  colored  people  of  Georgia  just  now,  but  Atlanta  Uni¬ 
versity  is  a'beacon  light  of  hope  and  courage. 

Talladega  College,  Alabama,  is  in  a^healthy  spot,  being  above 
the  malaria  that  hangs  over  the  lower  portions  of  the  State.  The 
influence  of  the  college  over  the  colored  people  is  becoming  more 
and  more  extensive  as  it  has  always  been  salutary,  and  it  is  winning 
its  way  to  the  respect  of  the  white  inhabitants. 

Tougaloo  University,  Mississippi,  eight  miles  north  of  Jackson, 
the  capital  of  the  State,  is  secluded  enough  for  a  monastery,  but 
with  its  fine  domain  of  500  acres  of  land,  and  its  rooms  overcrowded 
with  students,  it-  contrives  to  keep  quite  active  in  work  and  study,  as 
well  as  in  prayer  and  praise. 


22 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Straight  University,  ISTew-Orleans,  is  located  in  the  city  that 
sits  as  Queen  of  the  great  South-west.  In  population,  facilities  for 
travel,  and  the  opportunity  for  widespread  influence,  it  is  surpassed 
by  none  of  the  schools  founded  by  the  Association. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  how  well  these  institutions  are 
distributed  over  the  seven  great  States  of  the  South,  on  this  side  of 
the  Mississippi.  To  plant  others  like  them  across  the  river  is  only  a 
question  of  means.  That  extension,  together  with  great  enlargement 
in  those  on  this  side  of  the  river,  is  importunately  called  for  by  the 
progress  of  the  colored  people. 


CHARTERED  INSTITUTIONS. 

We  give  brief  sketches  of  the'seven  chartered  institutions  founded 
by  the  Association. 

BEREA  COLLEGE,  BEREA,  KY. 

Berea  College,  the  oldest  educational  institution  founded  by  the 
Association  in  the  South,  was  begun  in  1857  by  Rev.  John  G.  Fee, 
its  intrepid  missionary,  assisted  by  Rev.  J.  A.  R.  Rogers,  a  man  of 
kindred  spirit.  They  found  a  little  “  clearing”  in  the  underbrush  of 
Madison  County,  and  opened  a  school  (on  anti-slavery  principles)  in 
the  very  humble  log  cabin  that  must  now  be  recognized  as  the  First 
CoUege  Building ;  represented  on  page  7. 

At  the  closing  exercises  of  the  first  term  there  was  a  larger  assem¬ 
blage  of  people  than  had  ever  before  gathered  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  a  wealthy  slaveholder  remarked  that  if  Berea  School 
went  on,  Kentucky  would  be  a  free  State.  The  following  term,  four 
teachers  were  employed. 

In  1859,  a  Constitution  was  adopted,  and  a  Board  of  Trustees  ap¬ 
pointed.  The  question  of  having  colored  children  come  into  the 
school-room  with  white  children  had  never  practically  come  before 
the  people,  but  now  it  was  brought  forward  directly.  Mr.  Rogers 
announced  his  purpose  not  to  enter’  the  school  unless  it  was  open  to 
all.  When  the  election  for  trustees  of  the  school  district  came,  two 
sets  of  candidates  were  in  nomination ;  the  one  for  a  caste  school,  the 
other  against  it.  When  the  vote  was  taken,  the  anti-caste  trustees 
were  elected  by  a  majority  of  three  to  one,  and  the  great  victory  was 
attained. 

But  the  next  year  came  the  wave  of  violence  that  followed  the  ex¬ 
ecution  of  John  Brown.  The  teachers  were  driven  from  the  State, 


THE  NEW  HALL,  BEREA  COLLEGE. 


.AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION 


24 


IIISTOEY  OF  THE 


and  the  school  was  broken  up ;  but  only  for  a  time.  January  1st, 
1866,  Mr.  Rogers  was  again  on  the  ground,  and  the  school  was  re¬ 
opened.  Thus  far  in  the  reorganization  of  the  school  the  pupils  had 
all  been  white,  but  colored  students  now  applied  for  admission,  and 
were  received.  When  they  entered,  half  the  whites  walked  out,  and 
the  school  was  suddenly  reduced  to  thirteen.  Some  of  the  white  pu¬ 
pils  soon  returned,  and  in  less  than  two  years  after,  there  were  re¬ 
ported  two  hundred  pupils,  nearly  equally  divided  between  colored 
and  white. 

An  appropriation  of  17,000  was  received  from  the  Freedmen’s  Bu¬ 
reau,  and  temporary  buildings  were  erected  in  1868. 

In  1869,  the  first  college  class,  in  the  institutions  founded  by  the 
Association,  was  organized  in  Berea.  It  consisted  of  five  students, 
all  of  whom  had  their  homes  in  Kentucky.  In  this  year, "also,  a  dor¬ 
mitory  for  boys,  costing  $17,000,  was  erected. 

In  1873,  the  College  department  numbered  eighteen,  and  the  total 
number  of  pupils  was  247,  from  twelve  difierent  States.  In  the  four 
higher  departments,  the  number  of  white  and  colored  students  was 
nearly  equal ;  of  the  whole  number,  nearly  two-thirds  were  colored. 

The  great  event  of  the  year  was  the  completion  of  the  “  Ladies’ 
Hall,”  a  fine  brick  building,  costing  over  $50,000.  To  the  liberality 
of  R.  R.  Graves,  Esq.,  of  Morristown,  K.  J.,  the  early  completion  of 
this  building  is  largely  due.  , 


NORMAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  INSTITUTE,  HAMPTON  VA. 

Hamilton  is  classic  ground.  Its  famous  “  Roads”  were  the  pass¬ 
age-way  through  which  the  first  white  settlers  and  the  first  company 
of  slaves  entered  the  United  States ;  and  on  its  shores  was  opened 
the  first  Freedmen’s  school.  Here,  and  in  the  vicinity,  were  soon 
gathered  1500  colored  pupils.  ' 

In  1867,  the  Association  purchased  125  acres  near  the  mouth  of 
Hampton  Creek,  with  the  buildings.  It  subsequently  secured  the 
Hospital  barracks  which  covered  part  of  the  ground,  and  which  had 
sheltered  15,000  sick  and  wounded -soldiers.  These  buildings,  both 
the  temporary  and  [substantial,  were  fitted  up  for  school  and  farm 
purposes,  and  in  1868  a  Normal  School  was  opened,  with  Gen.  S.  C. 
Armstrong  as  its  Principal. 

The  policy  of  providing  students  with  remunerative  labor  was  con¬ 
templated  at  the  outset.  Farm  work  was  taught  the  boys,  and  the 
girls  learned  sewing  and  various  branches  of  household  industry. 

This  school  was  incorporated  under  a  Board  of  Trustees  in  June, 
1870,  as  the  Hampton  Normal  and  Agricultural  Institute.  The  prop- 


VIRGINIA  HALL,  HAMPTON  NORMAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  INSTITUTE. 


AMEEIC^VN"  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION 


25 


2G 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


erty  was  then  increased  by  the  erection  of  a  fine  school  building, 
which  was  ready  for  use  in  October  of  the  same  year. 

In  1872,  Agricultural  College  Land  Scrip  of  the  State  of  Virginia 
to  the  amount  of  $95,000  was  assigned  to  it,  and  Dr.  Ruffner,  Super¬ 
intendent  of  Public  Instruction  in  the  State,  says: — “lean  testify 
that  no  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  is  more  universally  approved 
than  that  which  gave  this  school  a  third  of  the  Agricultural  College 
Fund.” 

A  printing  press  having  been  added  to  the  resources  of  this  school, 
five  boys  learned  press-work  and  type-setting,  and  in  January  of 
1872  the  first  number  of  the  Southern  Workman,  an  illustrated 
monthly  paper  devoted  to  the  industrial  interests  of  the  South,  was 
published. 

In  this  year,  also.  General  Armstrong  reports  thirty-three  of 
the  graduates  of  the  Normal  School  as  teaching,  besides  many 
undergraduates,  and  their  character  as  teachers  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  the  Virginia  county  school  superintendents  have  learned  to 
accept  candidates  as  teachers  without  question,  on  the  strength  of  a 
diploma  from  Hampton.  A  Hampton  graduate  of  1872  passed  exa¬ 
mination  in  his  district  and  has  been  creditably  admitted  to  West 
Point. 

In  1873,  the  school  numbered  211  students,  170  of  whom  were 
boarders,  and  the  buildings  were  so  crowded  that  some  of  the  boys 
occupied  rooms  that  were  intended  for  recitations,  and  twenty-four  of 
them  were  encamped  in  tents  during  the  winter.  The  necessity  for  a 
new  building  was  imperative,  and  at  the  regular  commencement 
exercises  in  June,  the  corner-stone  of  “^Virginia  Hall  ”  was  laid  by 
Professor  Rosw^ell  D.  Hitchcock,  D.D.,  President  of  the  Union  Theo¬ 
logical  Seminary  of  New-York.  This  event  called  together  a  party 
of  distinguished  guests,  among  whom  were  Rev.  Dr. 'Taylor,  of  the 
Broadway  Tabernacle,  New-York,  Rev.  Dr.  Budington,  of  Brooklyn, 
Rev.  Drs.  Bellows  and  Robinson,  of  New-York,  and  others. 

In  June,  1874,  this  large  edifice  w^as  dedicated,  though  not  entirely 
finished  at  that  time.  The  occasion  was  also  marked  by  a  large  ^at¬ 
tendance  of  visitors  from  the  North  and  South,  and  the  addresses 
were  full  of  hearty  sympathy  with  the  Institute  and  its  great  work. 

Towards  the  erection  of  this  buildingVhe^Hampton  Students’  Band 
have  contributed  $10,000,  the  net  proceeds  of  their  concerts.  This 
building  measures  190  feet  in  front  by  40  in  width,  with  a  wing  100 
feet  in  the  rear.  It  contains  a  chapel  with  seating  capacity  for  400 
people,  an  industrial  room,  and  a  dining-room  to  accommodate  275. 
This  building,  when  completed,  will  be  one  of  the  finest  edifices  in 
Eastern  Virginia. 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


27 


FISK  UNIVERSITY,  NASHVILLE,  TENN. 

Tlie  Fisk  School  was  opened  in  1866,  and  named  in  lionor  of  Gene¬ 
ral  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  at  that  time  an  officer  of  the  Freedmen’s  Bureau 
at  Nashville.  The  land  on  which  the  Government  Hospital  stood 
was  purchased,  and  the  buildings  were  used  as  school-rooms,  and 
nearly  a  thousand  pupils  were  in  attendance  the  first  year. 

In  186 7,  the  city  of  Nashville  opened  schools  for  colored  children, 
and  the  Fisk  School  obtained  a  charter  as  the  Fisk  University,  and 
was  opened  for  advanced  pupils.  The  attendance  the  first  term  was 
319.  The  first  normal  class  of  twelve  was  organized  in  November  of 
the  same  year.  Early  in  the  year  1868,  $7,000  were  received  from 
Government,  and  repairs  were  made  in  the  buildings,  so  as  to  accom¬ 
modate  students  from  abroad.  In  1869,  the  Government  buildings, 
then  in  use  for  the  school,  were  transferred  to  the  Association,  and 
permanent  foundations  placed  under  them.  There  were  also  erected 
a  dormitory  building  and  a  Gothic  chapel.  The  annual  attendance 
since  has  been  about  400. 

The  following  statistics  will  show  something  of  the  work  Fisk  Uni¬ 
versity  is  doing  in  preparing  teachers  for  the  colored  masses : 

“  Of  its  students  who  have  been  here  during  the  past  year,  SOTiave  taught  schools  more 
or  less  during  that  time;  and  of  these,  32,  who  are  now  in  the  institution,  have  taught 
as  follows  :  In  Tennessee,  16 ;  in  Mississippi,  10 ;  in  Arkansas,  4 ;  and  in  Alabama  and 
Kentucky,  1  each.  Taught  public  schools,  25;  private  schools,  7.  Whole  number  of 
months  taught,  114 ;  total  salary,  $4,377.60 ;  average  per  teacher,  $136.80  ;  average  per 
month,  $38.40.  Superintended  Sunday-schools,  24 ;  taught  in  Sunday-schools,  3  ;  pu¬ 
pils  in  Sunday-schools,  1189. 

“Reckoning  that  the  eighteen  still  absent  from  the  institution  have  taught  five 
months  each,  with  the  same  average  as  in  other  things  above,  the  total  is  as  follows  : 
Pupils  taught  in  day-school,  2607 ;  in  Sunday-school,  1775  ;  total  salary,  $7,833.60  ;  months 
taught,  204 ;  or  twenty  years  and  four  months,  calling  a  school  year  ten  months. 

“It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  even  approximately  the  amount  of  teaching  done  in 
all  by  the  students  of  Fisk  University ;  it  could  not  be  more  than  the  truth  to  take  fifty, 
at  about  four  months  a  year,  as  an  average  during  the  six  years  past.  This  would  give, 
in  round  numbers,  whole  number  of  schools  taught,  300;  average  attendance,  15,000; 
time  taught,  1220  months,  or  122  years  of  ten  months  each ;  pupils  taught  in  Sunday- 
school,  10,000.” 

The  special  aim  of  this  institution  was  thus  stated  by  Prof.  John 
Ogden,  its  first  principal : 

“  One  peculiar  object  of  this  school  has  been  to  illustrate  in  practice  what  most  edu¬ 
cators  admit  in  theory — that  conversion  is  the  proper  door  into  the  kingdom  of  science 
as  well  as  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  that  science  and  religion  were  made  to  go  hand 
in  hand ;  that  the  two  joined  are  the  heaven-appointed  means  of  lifting  humanity  to  its 
proper  standing  and  true  dignity.” 

In  June,  1869,  the  pastor  of  the  church  wrote:  “,Out  of  the  fifty 
who  have  been  under  the  influence  of  the  Home,  nearly  all  have  be¬ 
come  Christians  since  they  entered  the  school.  During  the  year 


28 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


Uiere  has  been  almost^constanlly  a  deep  religious  interest.”  Reviv¬ 
als  of  reliofion  have  been  a  marked  and  blessed  characteristic  of  Fisk 

O  « 

University. 

JUBILEE  SINGERS. 

The  year  18 7 2  is  specially  marked  by  the  entering  of  the  first  col¬ 
lege  class  of  four,  and  the  beginning  of  the  enterprise  of  the  “Jubi¬ 
lee  Singers.”  “  The  lines  of  hospital  buildings  were  fast  going  to  de¬ 
cay.  Fisk  University  had  come  to  the  Red  Sea  of  its  history. 
Should  it  go  forward  ?  It  did,  and  the  waves  parted  before  it.” 

The  “  Jubilee  Singers”  undertook  to  raise  money  for  the  building 
of  a  new  hall.  Prof.  Spence  writes : 

“  In  justice,  it  must  be  said  that,  humanly  speaking,  without  the  courage,  deter¬ 
mination,  and  faith  of  Mr,  George  L.  White,  the  'Jubilee  Singers’  would  never  have 
gone  forth, 

“  It  was  a  day  of  doubt  and  misgiving  when  that  little  company  left  us  on  their  un¬ 
certain  mission.  They  were  not  then  the  well-known  '  Jubilee  Singers,’  but  an  unknown 
ti-oupe,  without  a  name,  and  who  were  mentioned  in  a  leading  newspaper  as  ‘Negro 
Minstrels,  calling  themselves  Christians.’  After  purchasing  provisions  sufficient  to  sup¬ 
ply  the  Home  for  a  few  days,  every  dollar  had  to  be  taken  to  get  the  singers  across  the 
Ohio  river. 

“  Then  came  the  terrible  fire  at  Chicago,  and  all  sympathy  and  aid  went  to  the  sufier- 
ers  there.  For  some  weeks,  just  enough  of  suecess  was  given  to  answer  the  prayer  so 
often  sung  by  them  in  their  own  sweet,  wild  music  : 

‘  O  Lord,  O  my  Lord,  O  my  good  Lord  ! 

Keep  me  from  sinking  down 

but  not  enough  as  yet  even  to  replace  the  funds  used  to  put  them  into  the  field. 

“So,  too,  at  the  institution,  the  oft-repeated  prayer,  ‘Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread,’  had  a  new  significance.  Many  a  time  the  last  quarter  of  a  dollar  was  paid  for 
provisions,  and  yet  the  stern  decision,  no  more  deU,  was  adhered  to.  Was  it  too  much 
to  expect  that  the  God  who  fed  Elijah  by  the  ravens  would  feed  us  and  those  under  our 
®re?  He  did  feed  us;  not  by  a  miracle,  at  least  visible  to  human  eyes,  but  by  a  kind 
ordering  of  his  providence.  When  the  trial  had  been  long  enough,  the  troupe  soon  re¬ 
funded  to  the  institution  all  they  had  cost  it,  and  paid  in  addition  all  its  indebtedness  at 
the  time  they  left  it.  The  boarding  department  was  already  rnnning  on  a  cash,  self- 
sustaining  basis,  and,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  there  were  $30,000  deposited  in  the  bank 
'by  the  Jubilee  Singers  toward  the  erection  of  Jubilee  Hall.” 

Of  the  success  of  these  singers  in  this  country,  it  is  hardly  neces¬ 
sary  to  speak.  The  high  praise  given  them  from  the  pulpit  and  the 
press,  the  crowds  who  thronged  to  hear  their  sweet,  wild  melodies, 
the  echoes  of  their  old  plantation  hymns  which  still  remain  in  city 
and  town,  and  the  $40,000  cleared  by  their  campaign,  all  testify  to  the 
appreciation  in  which  they  were  held. 

In  April,  1873,  they  sailed  for  Europe,  and  were  welcomed  across 
the  water  by  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Ar¬ 
gyll,  and  others,  the  highest  in  the  land.  They  were  invited  to  Argyll 
Lodge,  where  they  sang  before  the  Queen  ;  were  entertained  at  Carl- 


JUBILEE  HALL,  NASHVILLE, 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


29 


30 


HISTOKY  OF  THE 


ton  House  Terrace,  by  Mr.  Gladstone ;  sang  before  the  Congrega¬ 
tional  Union  and  National  Temperance  League,  and  everywhere,  both 
in  England  and  Scotland,  met  an  enthusiastic  welcome.  The  $50,000 
they  sought  there  was  readily  obtained,  and  they  returned  to  Fisk 
University  in  season  to  be  present  at  the  Commencement  exercises  in 
June,  1874. 

In  October,  1873,  the  corner-stone  of  Jubilee  Hall  was  laid,  by  Rev. 
E.  M.  Cravath,  Field  Secretary  of  the  American  Missionary  Associar 
tion.  The  brick  walls  are  now  (1874)  approaching  completion,  and 
the  work  will  be  pushed  forward  with  the  expectation  of  having  the 
building  ready  for  dedication  at  the  commencement  exercises  of  1875, 
when  the  first  college  class  will  graduate.  It  speaks  well  for  this 
class,  that  it  closes  the  junior  year  with  the  same  number  with  which 
itentered. 

ATLANTA  UNIVERSITY. 

In  October,  1867,  a  charter  was^^secured  by  the  American  Mission¬ 
ary  Association,  for  the  University  at  Atlanta,  Ga.  A  site,  known  as 
Diamond  Hill,  containing  sixty  acres  of  land,  was  soon  after  pur¬ 
chased  for  $15,000.  In  1869,  a  three-story  brick  building,  with  base¬ 
ment,  Avas  completed,  at  a  cost  of  $24,000.  It  contained  accommoda¬ 
tions  for  teachers,  dormitory  rooms  for  forty  girls,  a  large  parlor,  a 
dining-room  capable  of  seating  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  persons, 
with  kitchen  and  laundry.  The  academic  and  normal  departments  of 
the  University  were  opened  in  October  following,  and  before  the 
close  of  the  second  term,  every  room  in  the  building  was  occupied. 

In  1870,  a  second  building,  containing  additional  rooms  .for  teach¬ 
ers,  dormitory  rooms  for  sixty  boys,  and  school  and  recitation-rooms 
for  one  hundred  and  sixty  pupils,  was  erected,  and  subsequently  a 
wing  was  added  to  this  building,  thereby  accommodating  forty  more 
students,  and  providing  additional  school-rooms. 

In  1871,  the  University  received  a  grant  df  $8,000  from  the  State, 
and  the  Governor,  as  required  by  law,  appointed  a  committee  of  ex¬ 
aminers  to  visit  the  school,  at  the  annual  examination  in  the  summer 
of  1871. 

Of  these  gentlemen  and  the  examination,  a  teacher  wrote  briefly  as 
folloAVS : 

“  I  do  feel  that  in  our  school-room  during  our  three  days  of  examination,  last  week, 
there  was  a  conquest  over  prejudice  that  will  revolutionize  Georgia.  The  Governor  ap¬ 
pointed  ten  men,  mostly  Democrats,  one  of  whom  was  the  Governor  of  Georgia  during 
the  rebellion,  as  an  examining  committee.  Had  they  not  been  appointed,  I  presume 
they  never  would  have  crossed  our  threshold.  One  acknowledged  when  he  received  the 
appointment  from  the  Governor  he  was  shocked,  but,  by  the  earnest  request  of  one  of 


ATLAiNTA  IT  A  1 VEKSITY. 


32 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


the  other  members  of  the  committee,  consented  to  come  for  two.hours.  He  attended, 
however,  intensely  interested,  through  the  three  days. 

“Well,  they  all  came  but  one ;  they  saw  and  were  conquered.  The  ex-Govemor  was  to 
report  for  the  committee  on  the  last  day.  He  is  not  a  man  easily  moved,  but  is  remark¬ 
able  for  his  strong  will,  fixedness  of  purpose,  and  executive  ability.  But  a  more  free 
and  full  confession  of  injustice  to  mission  teachers,  and  of  prejudiced  belief  in  the  ina¬ 
bility  of  the  negro  to  rise,  could  not  have  been  desired.” 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  the  report  of  this  Board  of 
Visitors  to  the  Governor  of  Georgia : 

“  At  every  step  of  the  examination  we  were  impressed  with  the 
fallacy  of  the  popular  idea  (which,  in  common  with  thousands  of 
others,  a  majority  of  the  undersigned  have  heretofore  entertained) 
that  the  members  of  the  African  race  are  not  capable  of  a  high  grade 
of  intellectual  culture.  The  rigid  tests  to  which  the  classes  in  alge¬ 
bra  and  geometry,  and  in  Latin  and  Greek,  were  subjected,  unequiv¬ 
ocally  demonstrated  that,  under  judicious  training  and  with  perse- 
Tering  study,  there  are  many  members  of  the  African  race  who  can 
attain  a  high  grade  of  intellectual  culture.  They  prove  that  they  can 
master  intricate  problems  in  mathematics,  and  fully  comprehend  the 
construction  of  difficult  passages  in  the  classics. 

“  Many  of  the  pupils  exhibited  a  degree  of  mental  culture  which, 
considering  the  length  of  time  their  minds  have  been  in  training, 
would  do  credit  to  members  of  any  race. 

“It  is  patent  that  judicious  economy  pervades  the  management  of 
every  department  of  the  institution.  We  are  convinced  that  the 
funds  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  managers  have  been  wisely  ex¬ 
pended. 

“We  are  aware  that  it  is  too  much  the  habit  of  boards  of  visitors 
to  educational  institutions  to  regard  themselves  as  under  obligations 
to  praise  without  stint  all  that  they  may  see,  and  point  out  no  defects 
which  they  may  discover. 

“  In  discharging  the  duty  to  which  we  were  assigned  by  your  ex¬ 
cellency,  for  considerations  not  necessary  to  recount,  we  have  felt  that 
it  was  our  duty  to  give  to  you,  and  through  you  to  the  public,  a 
report  strictly  according  with  the  facts. 

“  Of  the  justice  of  this  report  the  incredulous  can’satisfy  themselves 
by  visiting  the  institution,  as  we  have  done,  with  an  eye  single  to 
the  truth.” 

This  report  was  signed  by  the  members  of  the  committee,  headed 
by  J.  E.  Brown,  ex-Governor  of  the  State.  At  this  time,  the  school 
numbered  160  students. 

The  next  year  the  State  withdrew  its  aid,  but  the  Institution  went 
bravely  on,  and  fifteen  graduated  from  the  preparatory  department, 
ready  to  enter  the  next  October  upon  a  collegiate  course.  Of  the^e 
“  Freshmen,”  one  of  the  professors  says, 


AMERICAN'  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


33 


“  They  have  not  read  iiuilc  as  much  Latin  and  Greek  as  is  required  for  admission  to 
New-England  collci^es,  but  more  than  Southern  and  Western  colleges  require.  Their 
instructor  in  the  classics  is  conlident  that  several  of  the  graduates  have  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  those  branches  than  any  in  the  class  in  which  he  fitted,  most  of  whom 
entered  Dartmouth.” 

In  IS'ZS,  the  legislature  again  made  an  appropriation  of  $8,000. 
This  year  there  were  two  hundred  and  fifty  students  gathered  from 
eight  States,  crowding  the  buildings  to  their  utmost  capacity.  A 
class  of  four  graduated  from  the  Normal  department,  and  eight  passed 
to  their  sophomore  year  in^college.  Teachers  were  sent  for  from  all 
parts  of  Georgia,  and  so  great  was  the  demand  that  at  the  close  of 
the  school  nearly  a  hundred  of  the  students  were  already  engaged  as 
teachers. 

In  1874,  the  legislature  of  the  State,  without  solicitation,  voted  an 
annual  grant  of  $8,000  to  the  University,  a  most  emphatic  endorse¬ 
ment  of  its  usefulness,  and  a  great  help  to  its  resources — and  yet  by 
no  means  meeting  its  necessities  in  buildings,  apparatus,  and  com¬ 
plete  endowment. 


TOUGALOO  UNIVERSITY. 

This  institution  was  chartered  in  1871.  It  is  located  near  Touo-aloo, 
a  station  on  the  New-Orleans,  Jackson  and  Great  Northern  railroad, 
seven  miles  north  of  Jackson,  Miss. 

Five  hundred  acres,  a  portion  of  a  plantation  worked  a  few  years 
ago  by  about  a  hundred  slaves,  were  purchased,  and  the  school 
opened  in  the  large  but  dilapidated  mansion.  The  grounds  are  ample 
and  the  site  is  upon  rolling  land,  fronting  upon  a  fine  grove  of  live 
oaks,  festooned  with  Spanish  moss. 

Since  the  purchase,  the  mansion  has  been  repaired,  and  two  build¬ 
ings  erected  for  the  accommodation  of  pupils  from  abroad.  Yet  in 
1871  there  Avere  more  than  forty  students  begging  admission  who 
could  not  be  furnished  with  sleeping  apartments. 

In  1872,  $3,000  were  received  from  the  State  in  aid  of  the  normal 
department.  A  friend  from  Illinois  gave  a  thousand  dollars  for  the 
erection  of  a  temporary  building  to  shelter  a  part  of  those  who  would 
otherwise  be  turned  away.  That  building  was  at  once  crowded. 

This  is  the  only  chartered  institution  connected  with  our  work,  for 
the  States  of  Mississippi  and  Arkansas.  In  1873  the  number  of 
pupils  was  reported  as  280. 

In  1874  the  buildings  were  enlarged  and  improved  and  additiona 
facilities  furnished.  A  conditional  appropriation  of  $15,000  was  made 
by  the  legislature  of  the  State. 

3 


3-1 


HISTOKr  OF  THE 


TALLADEGA  COLLEGE. 

Talladega  College  was  opened  in  1868  under  the  following  circum¬ 
stances  : 

Ke\%  ]\[r.  Brown,  the  teacher  and  pastor,  sent  by  the  A.M.A.  to 
Talladega,  was  importuned  for  teachers.  Mne  adjacent  counties, 
thickly  populated,  had  no  school  of  any  sort.  We  could  send  no 
more.  Mr.  Brown  met  some  of  the  colored  people  in  their  log 
churches  and  told  them  there  was  but  one  wuay  by  which  they  could 
secure  a  teacher.  ‘‘Pick  out  the  best  specimen  of  a  young  man  you 
have  for  a  teacher,  and  bring  all  the  corn  and  bacon  you  can  si)are 
for  his  living,  and  I  will  take  him  into  my  school  and  make  a  teacher 
of  him.”  They  followed  his  advice  and  brought  their  corn  in,  from 
a  handful  to  four  quarts,  more  often  a  handful  in  their  pocket,  or 
tied  in  a  handkerchief,  and  laid  it  on  the  altar  in  front  of  the  pulpit, 
singing  as  they  marched  around  the  aisle.  Eight  or  nine  young  men 
were  then  selected  from  the  different  localities  ;  and,  fnrnislied  av ith 
rations,  came  into  Talladega,  ten,  twenty,  or  thirty  miles,  on  foot, 
with  sacks  of  corn  and  bacon  on  their  backs.  There  were  no  dor¬ 
mitory  accommodations  in  Talladega  for  them,  so  they  were  obliged 
to  sleep  on  the  floor,  in  such  cabins  as  could  receive  them  and  where 
they  had  a  chance  to  bake  their  corn  cake  by  the  fire. 

The  Association  secured  for  the  location  of  the  institution  forty 
acres  of  land  with  a  large  college  building  already  erected,  which 
they  called  Swayne  Hall.  The  college  was  chartered  in  1869.  In 
the  following  year  the  dormitory  building  called  Foster  Hall  was 
completed.  In  18'71  the  school  numbered  between  three  and  four 
hundred  pupils,  forty  of  whom  were  boarders.  All  but  three  of  the 
young  men  in  the  family  were  Christians,  the  Sabbath-school  in¬ 
creased  from  one  hundred  and  forty  to  three  hundred  members,  and 
thirty-one  mission  schools  were  taught  by  the  students  within  a  radius 
of  twenty  miles.  From  this  outside  missionary  work  sprang  the  first 
colored  Sabbath-school  Convention  in  the  South.  It  was  held  at 
Talladega^  April,  1871,  and  has  met  annually  ever  since.  In  this 
convention,  thirty-four  Sabbath-schools  were  represented  by  about 
sixty  delegates.  The  meeting  of  1874  reports  an  audience  of  four 
hundred  persons,  and  a  representation  of  eighty-one  schools. 

The  pressing  need  of  better  ministers  in  the  South  led  to  the  early 
opening  of  a  theological  department,  for  those  who  must  be  educated, 
if  at  all,  without  a  college  course.  During  the  year  1873  there  were  in 
this  department  six  men  from  three  different  denominations.  In  1874 
five  acres  of  land  and  a  building  called  Graves  Hall  were  purchased. 

The  teacher  of  this  theological  class  struck  out  an  unique  plan  for 
missionary  labors  in  the  rural  districts  during  vacation.  A  tent  was 


WAYNE  HALL,  TALLADEGA  COLLEGE,  ALABAMA 


36 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


purchased  in  New-York  with  funds  contributed  by  friends  in  Milford, 
Mass.,  and  with  this  the  teacher.  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  and  liis  brother, 
with  four  of  the  students,  started  for  the  pine  woods.  One  of  the  par¬ 
ty  gives  a  sketch  of  their  tenting,  from  which  we  copy  a  few  extracts. 

“  When  we  came  to  our  present  site  in  Kingston,  several  days  ago,  it  was  all  pine 
woods,  except  that  old  deserted  field  over  yonder.  Our  nearest  house  was  about  a  mile 
away.  Our  first  work  after  unloading  the  seats,  was  to  put  up  the  tent.  Before  we  had 
finished  driving  the  stakes,  the  people  began  to  gather  for  meeting,  and  so  they  helped 
clear  away  the  stones  and  logs  and  bring  in  the  seats. 

“  While  we  were  putting  up  our  tent,  a  woman  who  had  learned  to  cook  for  her  mas¬ 
ter  before  the  war,  came  from  her  home  two  miles  away  and  boiled  some  corn  and  made 
some  biscuit  for  our  supper.  She  spread  our  table  (which  was  simply  one  of  the  seats 
we  had  brought)  in  one  end  of  the  tent,  while  the  people  continued  to  gather  iu  the 
other  end.  After  supper  it  was  time  for  meeting.  We  sang  and  prayed,  and  I  told  them 
that  we  had  come  among  them  to  do  them  good  and  to  teach  them  a  different  kind  of  reli¬ 
gion  from  mere  shouting  and  confusion.  Some  of  them  said  they  had  got  tired  of  their 
ignorant,  noisy  meetings  and  wanted  to  find  a  better  way.  All  but  two  or  three  seemed 
glad  that  we  had  come  among  them,  and  said  they  would  come  to  our  meetings,  and 
would  help  us  build  a  good  school-house  chapel. 

After  meeting  they  lit  their  ‘  fat  pine  ’  torches  and  went  in  all  directions  down  the 
hill  through  the  pine  woods  towards  their  little  cabins,  one,  two,  or  three  miles  away. 
Then  we  prepared  our  beds  by  turning  one  seat  around  so  as  to  face  another  and  spread¬ 
ing  our  blankets  on  the  two  together. 

‘  ‘  The  next  day  others  hunted  shingle  trees  and  made  shingles,  while  I  went  to  find 
lumber.  At  night  we  all  gathered  again  in  our  tent  for  meeting,  and  so  we  continued 
working  during  the  day  and  holding  meetings  at  night.” 

STRAIGHT  UNIVERSITY. 

Straight  University  is  located  in  N’ew-Orleans,  La.,  and  is  named 
after  its  generous  patron,  Hon.  Seymour  Straight.  The  land  was 
purchased  by  the  American  Missionary  Association,  and  a  fine  build- 
ins:  was  erected  with  aid  from  the  Freedmen’s  Bureau.  The  institu- 
tion  was  incorporated  and  the  normal  department  opened  in  1869 ; 
the  academic  department  in  ISYO.  Easy  of  access  from  populous 
States,  where  few  schools  of  high  grade  are  opened  to  students  with¬ 
out  regard  to  race  or  sex,  this  young  institute  meets  an  imperative 
need,  and  may  exert  a  vast  influence  in  the  work  of  education  in  the 
South-west.  About  three-fourths  of  the  students  are  of  Roman 
Catholic  parents.  In  1 872,  41 3  students  were  reported,  with  the  begin- 
ning  of  a  regular  college  class,  and  twelve  in  a  theological  classr 

During  the  year  1873  a  boarding  department  was  opened  in  a 
dwelling  purchased  by  the  Association,  adjoining  the  university  build¬ 
ing,  but  to  enable  it  to  fulfill  the  purposes  of  the  Association  in  start¬ 
ing  it,  a  very  large  increase  in  its  funds  is  needed. 

This  institute  is  exerting  a  wide  and  beneficial  influence  in  Xew- 
Orleans  and  the  surrounding  country,  in  supplying  the  feeble  churches 
with  the  means  of  the  Gospel,  in  the  establishment  and  maintenance 
of  Sunday-schools,  and  is  thus  a  power  of  great  good. 


STKAIGHT  UNIVERSITY,  NEW-ORLEANS, 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION 


37 


88 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


GRADED  AND  NORMAL  SCHOOLS. 

STATISTICS. 

Williston  Scliool,  Wilmington,  N.  C. — Value  of  property,  $.5,000  ; 
number  of  teachers,  7  ;  number  of  pupils,  409. 

Avery  Institute,  Charleston,  S.  C. — Value  of  property,  |20,000  ;  num¬ 
ber  of  teachers,  9  ;  number  of  pupils,  407. 

Brewer  Normal  School,  Greenwood,  S.C. — Value  of  property,  $4,000  ; 
number  of  teachers,  1  ;  number  of  pupils,  85. 

Normal  School,  Anderson ville,  Ga. — Property  owned  by  United 
States  ;  number  of  teachers,  2  ;  number  of  pupils,  11 7. 

Storrs  School,  Atlanta,  Ga. — Value  of  property,  $10,000  ;  number  of 
teachers,  6  ;  number  of  pupils,  424. 

Lewis  High  School,  Macon,  Ga. — Value  of  property,  $12,000  ;  num¬ 
ber  of  teachers,  5;  number  of  pupils,  769. 

Beach  Institute,  Savannah,  Ga. — Value  of  property,  $12,000  ;  number 
of  teachers,  8  ;  number  of  pupils,  677. 

Trinity  School,  Athens,  Ala. — Value  of  property,  $3,000  ;  number  of 
teachers,  3  ;  number  of  pupils,  109. 

Lincoln  School,  Marion,  Ala. — Value  of  property,  $2,000;  number  of 
teachers,  2  ;  number  of  pupils,  84. 

Emerson  Institute,  Mobile,  Ala. — Value  of  property,  $20,000  ;  num¬ 
ber  of  teachers,  2  ;  number  of  pupils,  113. 

*  Swayne  School,  Montgomery,  Ala. — Value  of  property,  $15,000; 
number  of  teachers,  6  ;  number  of  pupils,  483. 

Burrell  School,  Selma,  Ala. — Value  of  property,  $7,000 ;  number  of 
teachers,  7  ;  number  of  pupils,  469. 

Howard  School,  Chattanooga,  Tenn. — Value  of  property,  $8,000  ; 
number  of  teachers,  4  ;  number  of  pupils,  415. 

Le  Moyne  Normal  and  Commercial  School,  Memphis,  Tenn. — Value 
of  property,  $15,000;  number  of  teachers,  6  ;  number  of  pupils, 
280. 

Normal  School,  Lexington,  Ky. — Value  of  property,  $7,000  ;  number 
of  teachers,  5;  number  of  pupils,  222. 

Ely  Normal  School,  Louisville,  Ky. — Value  of  property,  $20,000 ; 
supported  by  the  city  the  past  year. 

Union  Academy,  Columbus,  Miss. — Value  of  property,  $2,000;  num¬ 
ber  of  teachers,  8  ;  number  of  pupils,  545. 

Barnes  Institute,  Galveston,  Texas. — Value  of  property,  $6,000  ;  num¬ 
ber  of  teachers,  4  ;  number  of  pupils,  86. 

*  In  the  case  of  this  institution,  the  title  of  the  property  is  in  a  Board  of  Trustees. 


AAFERICAN  MTSSTONAUY  ASSOCIATION 


39 


AVERY  INSITTUTE,  CHARLESTON,  S.  C. 


DEDICATED  MAY  7,  1868. 


BEACH  INSTITUTE,  SAVANNAH,  GA. 


DEDICATED  JAN.  1,  1868. 


40 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


CHUKCHES  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

CHURCH  PLANTING. 

The  Freedmen  are  neither  heathens  nor  infidels.  They  believe  in 
Christ,  but  generally  their  faith  is  without  works  and  their  zeal 
without  knowledge.  They  have  churches  and  ministers,  but  both 
ministers  and  people  are  ignorant,  and,  in  too  many  cases,  immoral. 
Their  great  need,  therefore,  is  Christian  hioioledge,  leading  to  an 
intelligent  faith  and  a  practical  morality.  Taking  this  as  the  basis- 
fact,  the  Association,  as  we  have  seen,  began  its  missionary  work  among 
this  people  by  giving  them  the  alphabet  as  the  coveted  key  to  the 
written  word  of  God,  so  long  hidden  from  them.  Then  came  elemen¬ 
tary  schools  in  great  numbers,  followed  by  those  of  higher  grade  to 
prepare  teachers,  preachers,  and  leaders  for  this  rising  race.  Simul¬ 
taneously,  however,  with  the  founding  of  these  permanent  institu¬ 
tions  the  Association  began  the  planting  of  churches.  These  were 
organized  with  caution,  more  solicitude  being  felt  as  to  character  than 
number.  They  were  formed  mainly  in  connection  with  the  educa¬ 
tional  institutions,  and  were  intended  to  be  models  of  the  true  Chris¬ 
tian  and  church  life.  In  1867,  churches  of  this  character  were  insti¬ 
tuted  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  ;  Atlanta,  Ga.  ;  Chattanooga,  Tenn.  :  in 
1868,  in  Andersonville,  Macon,  and  Savannah,  Ga.  ;  Nashville  and 
Memphis,  Tenn.  ;  Talladega,  Ala. ;  and  Paris,  Texas  :  in  1869,  Hamp¬ 
ton,  Ya. ;  Gretna,  Lockport,  and  New-Orleans,  La. ;  Westport,  Mo.  ; 
and  Leavenworth,  Kansas:  in  187,0,  iif  Beaufort,  Dudley,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  N.  C. ;  Marion,  Ala  ;  Terrebonne,  La.  ;  and  Hamilton  and  Tou- 
galoo.  Miss.:  in  1871,  in 'McLeansville  and  Woodbridge,  N.  C. ; 
Canal,  Ga.  ;  Walnut  Chapel,  Ky. ;  Athens,  Ala.;  and  New-Iberia, 
La:  in  1872,  in  Ogeechee,  Ga. ;  McMinnville,  Tenn. ;  Montgomery 
and  Selma,  Ala. ;  New-Orleans  and  Terrebonne  Station,  La. ;  and 
Goliad,  Texas  :  in  1873,  in  Belmont  and  Byron  Station,  Ga. :  in  1874, 
in  Atlanta  University  and  Liberty  County,  Ga.  ;  Carrolton,  La. ;  Ra¬ 
leigh,  N.  C.;  Kingston,  The  Cove,  and  Alabama  Furnace,  Ala. 

CHURCH  BUILDING. 

How  could  these  impoverished  ex-slaves  build  houses  of  worship, 
and  yet  how  could  these  young  churches  be  nourished  without 
homes?  We  present  below  some  illustrations  of  the  toils  and  self- 
sacrifices  they  met,  and  of  the  aid  providentially  furnished  them,  in 
their  efibrts  to  build. 

Plymouth  Church,  Chaeleston,  S.  C.,  was  dedicated  in  1872.  The 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


41 


pastor,  Rev.  J.  T.  Ford,  gave  us  this  sketch  of  tlie  initial  effort  in 
1871,  to  raise  funds: 

“  Last  Thursday  wc  had  a  Thanksgiving*  service  in  regular  Ncw-England  style.  ‘  It  was 
our  first  Thanksgiving  as  a  church,  and  the  people  appeared  to  enjoy  the  meeting 
greatly.  After  the  sermon,  they  came  forward  and  subscribed  $520  toward  purchasing 
a  lot  on  which  to  build  a  church.  Wc  shall  raise  the  subscription,  I  think,  to  $800  or 
$1000,  as  only  seventy-live  have  yet  subscribed,  and  every  member  will  desire  to  have  a 
part  in  this  first  effort  of  the  church.  Most  of  the  brethren  subscribed  $10  each,  a  few 
$*20,  and  ;a  few  $5 ;  most  of  the  'sisters  subscribed  $5.  These  subscriptions  are  to  be 
paid  in  weekly  installments  of  25  cents  and  50  cents  each,  although  some  have  paid 
half  down.  The  Sunday-school  scholars  are  to  have  a  hand  in  this  work.  It  has  al¬ 
ready  raised  by  penny  contributions  $10  for  the  church  in  Washington.” 

The  Rev.  E.  O.  Tade,  the  pastor  of  the  church  in  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  thus  described  the  planting  and  building  : 

“  The  First  Congregational  Church  of  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  was  organized  June  9th, 
1867,  with  both  white  and  colored  members.  We  have  since  received  additions  from 
both  classes.  One  specialty  of  our  mission  is  to  war  against  the  demon  of  caste. 

“  The  church  was  born  in  a  school-house,  and  there  nourished  for  four  years.  Dur¬ 
ing  this  time  our  prayer-meetings  were  well  attended  ;  and  we  had  the  largest  and  per¬ 
haps  the  best  Sabbath-school  in  the  city. 

“  Our  hearts  early  began  to  long  for  a  sanetuary.  We  were  encouraged  to  move  for¬ 
ward,  for  the  American  Missionary  Association  said,  ‘  We  will  help  you.’  So  we  began 
to  lay  by  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the  Lord  prospered ;  and  soon  we  had  enough  to 
pay  for  a  good  lot,  well  located  ;  and  the  pennies  were  saved  and  brought  in,  till  we  had 
$350.  Then  we  received  from  a  good  widow  lady  of  Illinois  $100 — a  valuable  ‘  mite  ’ — 
and  we  said  the  Lord  has  prospered  us,  therefore,  we,  his  servants,  will  arise  and  build. 

“July  25th,  1871,  the  first  sill  of  a  building  36x70  ft.  was  put  in  place,  and  in  just  four 
weeks  we  had  meeting  and  Sabbath-school  in  our  new  house,  because  the  brethren  and 
sisters  had  a  mind  to  work  ;  for  while  the  brethren  labored,  the  sisters  brought  on  the 
well-stored  baskets,  and  right  merrily  did  hammers  ring  late  and  early.” 

Rev.  John  Scott,  the  pastor  of  the  church  at  Dudley,  IST.  C.,  thus 
graphically  pictured  the  burning  of  his  church,  and  the  sympathy 
and  assistance  he  received  in  buildins;  anew  : 

o 

“  Dudley,  February  21,  1871. 

“  It  is  three  in  the  morning.  One  hour  ago,  I  was  awakenediby  the^cry  of  Fire  /  and  rose 
only  to  witness  the  smoking  timbers  of  what  was  our  beautiful  church. 

“  The  building  and  seats  cost  $2,250,  and  have  been  ofteni. ''renounced  by  good  judges  to 
be  worth  $3,000.  The  greatest  eare  and  economy  were  use^-^’-  its  erection,  and  it  was 
one  of  the  best  buildings  of  its  size  owned  by  the  Associaf  ..xi.  was  neatly  furnished, 
being  painted  outside  and  painted  and  varnished  within. 

“  When  all  was  over,  in  the  stillness  of  midnight  bj'^  the  smoking  ruins  we  knelt  and 
gave  our  cause  into  the  hands  of  God.  The  bell  had  fallen  in  the  early  part  of  the  fire, 
and  no  alarm  could  bejrung ;  but  many  aching  hearts  were  there,  and  we  thought  of  and 
prayed  for  the  150  children  who  to-morrow  would  be  without  books  or  school ;  and  espe¬ 
cially  the  200  who  Sabbath  after  Sabbath  came  to  hear  God’s  word  and  fill  the  church, 
but  can  come  no  more.  Many  are  inquiring  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved,  others  have 
already  begun  to  learn  new  lessons  of  God’s  truth  and  His  love.  Where  will  they  go 
now  ?” 

“April,  1871. 

“  I  must  speak  again  of  the  kindness  of  the  white  people.  They  have  invited  us  to  use 
their  building  every  Sabbath.  They  have  contributed  about  $500  tow'urd  the  erection  of 


42 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


oiir  new  building,  and  that,  too,  when  their  own  church  needs  every  dollar  expended  on 
it  to  make  it  as  comfortable  as  the  one  thej^arc  helping  ns  to  erect  for  the  colored  people. 

“  The  most  of  those  who  subscribed  are  of  that  political  party  usually  thought  at 
the  North  to  be  either  indifferent  or  opposed  to  the  progress  of  the  negro.  This  sympa¬ 
thy  is  all  the  more  marked  from  the  pains  taken  to  express  it.  At  this  season  of  the 
year,  and  especially  the  present  year,  there  is  but  very  little  money  in  this  country.  Yet 
they  are  anxious  to  pay  their  subscriptions,  and  some  even  take  pains  to  come  miles  to 
bring  the  money. 

The  colored  people  are  also  in  earnest  in  the  work  themselves.  One  member  of  m3' 
church  has  subscribed  $40,  and  paid  most  of  it  alread}'.” 

The  Animal  Report  for  18'72  gives  the  account  of  tlie  building  of 
the  church  in  Marion,  Ala. : 

“  The  church  at  Marion,  Ala.,  was  organized  the  first  Sabbath  in  January,  1870.  In 
July,  1871,  it  determined  to  build.  It  then  had  thirty-three  male  members,  all  so  poor 
as  to  have  considerable  difficulty  in  providing  the  means  of  support.  The  Americax 
Missionary  Association  gave  a  lot  worth  $100,  and  $860  in  cash.  Citizens  of  Marion 
contributed  in  money  and  work,  $245  ;  friends  at  the  North,  $260.  The  members  them¬ 
selves  did  the  work  and  wrung  the  rest  out  of  their  own  povert}',  giving  in  work  and 
money  $1,462.  In  the  eighteenth  week  after  they  entered  the  woods  to  cut  the  sills,  the 
house,  worth  over  $3,000,  was  dedicated,  and  of  the  seven  houses  of  worship  in  Marion 
— one  of  them  costing  four  times  as  much — this  is  admitted  to  be  the  best,  in  construc¬ 
tion  and  inside  finish  !” 

The  church  in  Savannah  has  planted  three  mission  churches  in  tlie 
vicinity.  Of  that  at  Belmont,  live  miles  from  the  city,  tve  abridge 
these  particulars  from  the  “  Missionary”  for  1874  : 

‘‘The  church  and  Sunday-schooff first  met  in  a  brush  arbor,  then  in  an  open  shed, 
but  soon  it  was  decided  to  build.  A  few  colored  men  of  Belmont  and  Savannah  said, 

‘  Silver  and  gold  we  have  none,  but  such  as  we  have  ive  loill  give — the  free  labor  of  our 
hands.’  The  pastor,  whose  hands  are  busy  in  the  work,  gives  this  touching  item  ; 
‘We  are  progressing  with  our  chapel  at  Belmont.  We  have  faith  that  the  mone}’- to 
get  the  lumber,  nails,  windows,  etc.,  will  come  from  some  source.  The  brethren  have 
got  out  the  timber,  and  it  is  on  the  ground. 

“  I  went  out  yesterday  to  see  how  the  work  was  getting  on.  I  found  the  sisters  there 
with  hoes,  axes,  and  rakes,  clearing  off  the  grubs  and  brush  from  the  church  lot.  I 
asked,  ‘  What  does  this  mean  ?’  A  sister  answered,  ‘  This  is  the  day  set  for  the  sisters 
to  help.’ 

“As  I  left  the  scene,  pondering  the  wmrds,  ‘  This  is  the  day  set  for  the  sisters  to 
help,’  I  thought,  ‘  What  a  ermtrast  between  a  sewing-circle  of  sisters  in  the  parlor, 
with  their  finely  polisL^^i^y'-j^ng-machines,  eas3'-chairs  and  sofas,  and  those  sisters  in 
the  pine  wmods  of  Georgia,  nlth  their  big  hoes,  axes,  and  rakes,  digging,  grubbing,  and 
piling  brush  !’  ‘  The  sisters’  day  to  help.’  This  is  indeed  their  day.  The  next  genera¬ 

tion  will  not  help  as  these  dear  old  souls  are  helping.  With  them  will,  pass  awa}"  the 
heavy  plantation  hoe,  and  the  women  wielding  the  eight-pound  axe.” 


REVIVALS. 

The  teachers  of  the  schools  and  the  pastors  of  the  churches  have 
been  favored  with  revival  influences  among  pupils  and  people.  From 
many  accounts  furnished  us  we  select  a  few,  A  teacher  wrote  (in 
1867)  from  Hampton,  Va. : 


amp:rican  missionary  association. 


43 


“  With  my  Report  I  write  a  line  to  speak  of  the  revival  here.  Four  weeks  since  we 
had  our  first  incetinc:.  That  week  there  were  from  twenty-live  to  thirty  conversions. 
For  three  or  four  days  there  were  ei*;'!^  or  ten  a  day.  Tlic  whole  church,  minister  and 
people,  seemed  awake,  but  the  work  has  been  quiet.  We  have  had  excellent  meetings. 
F'or  two  ■weeks  they  were  held  daily,  and  since  then,  three  evenings  a  week.  The  work 
lias  reached  all  classes.  Backsliders  have  been  returned,  and  the  vilest  sinners  are 
penitent.  A  great  many  old  men  and  women  arc  seeking  the  Saviour.  One  woman  who 
was  converted  reccntl}"  must  be  over  eighty  years  of  age.  I  wish  you  could  see  how 
happy  she  is.  For  nearly  two  weeks  we  could  scarcely  teach  our  school,  the  children 
were  under  such  deep  feeling.” 

A  teacher  writing  from  Macon,  Ga.,  (in  1868,)  said  : 

“  Five  of  my  day-scholars  have  become  Christians,  and  I  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  their  hearts  have  been  changed. 

I  am  so  happy.  Sixteen  are  seeking  the  Saviour,  and  there  seems  much  good  feel¬ 
ing  in  my  school. 

“  The  Lord  is  certainly  here.  There  is  some  interest  in  my  night-class.  I  pray  that 
it  may  increase.” 

From  Nashville,  Tenn.,  we  had  this  report.  Sept.,  18'70  : 

T  “  This  is  but  the  third  week  of  our  school,  and  there  have  already  been  nineteen  con¬ 
versions.  The  Lord  is  indeed  with  us,  and  showing  us  His  great  salvation.  Among  our 
boarders  are  twenty-five  Memphis  students  ;  the  day  after  their  arrival,  (they  came  over 
on  Saturday,)  one  of  them  was  converted,  and  others  began  to  seek  the  Lord.  At  our 
first  Wednesday  evening  prayer-meeting,  which  is  our  usual  weekly  meeting,  the  Spirit 
so  moved  upon  hearts  that  several  cried  out  for  mercy.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting 
they  came  to  their  rooms,  and  before  we  slept  that  night  five  were  rejoicing  in  sins  for¬ 
given.  The  next  week  the  meeting  was  more  quiet,  but  much  feeling  was  manifested, 
and  when  we  came  home,  and  had  our  little  meetings  in  the  students’  rooms,  four  more 
sweetly  found  rest  in  Jesus.  We  have  had  no  extra  meetings,  except  last  Monday 
night,  at  which  souls  were  again  given  us.  Last  night,  our  third  Wednesday  evening 
meeting,  was  preeious ;  young  converts  testified  to  the  love  of  Jesus,  and  several, 
weeping,  asked  prayers  that  they  might  find  Him,  in  whom  we  all  so  rejoiced.  One  of  our 
Memphis  boys  was  then  and  there  converted,  and  when  we  came  to  the  dormitory,  three 
of  the  young  ladies  found  J esus.  These  three  were  the  last  in  the  ladies’  dormitory. 
All  now  have  professed  Christ ;  sixteen,  since  the  term  began.  Oh !  if  I  could  describe 
to  you  these  little  meetings  in  the  dormitory,  after  we  return  from  the  Chapel.  The 
best  of  the  wine  is  kept  for  the  last  of  the  feast,  and  it  is  a  feast  indeed.  Jesus  is  with 
us,  and  we  all  rejoice  in  His  love.” 

Rev.  G.  W.  Andrews,  pastor  of  the  chuTch  in  Marion,  Ala.,  de¬ 
scribed  a  blessed  revival  enjoyed  by  his  church  : 

I  have  been  preaching  every  night  for  three  weeks  with  most  blessed  results.  More 
than  a  hundred  are  earnest  inquirers,  and  many  have  found  Christ.  All  has  been  very 
quiet ;  and  the  whole  awakening  has  been  of  God,  not  man.  Among  the  converts  are 
eight  or  ten  fathers  of  families,  who  have  never  before  been  reached,  as  they  were  too 
intelligent  to  believe  in  such  a  religion  as  they  had  been  taught  in  the  past.  Such  ideas 
of  a  Christian  life  as  your  missionaries  teach  satisfy  their  judgment,  and  meet  the 
wants  of  their  aching  hearts.” 

Rev.  Mr.  Roa-ers  aiiive  the  folio  wins:  account  of  the  results  of  the 

o  o  o 

year  in  his  church,  in  1872  : 

“Never  before  has  our  work  in  Macon  been  so  abundantly  prospered.  We  can 
already  rejoice  over  thirty  new-born  souls,  and  stillthe  work  goes  on.  These  blessings 


u 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


have  not  come  unsought.  Our  little  hand  of  teachers,  and  our  church,  in  perfect 
S3nnpathy  with  each  other,  for  months  have  prayed  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  The  ‘Week  of  Prayer’  was  faithfully  observed.  The  feeling  on  the  part  of 
many  praying  ones,  since  that  date,  is  best  expressed  in  the  words  of  wrestling  Jacob : 

‘  I  will  not  let  thee  go,  except  thou  bless  me.’ 

“Our  meetings  have  been  largely  attended,  especially  during  the  last  two  weeks. 
The  anxious-seats  have  been  thronged  with  inquirers.  Greater  distress  for  sin  I  have 
never  witnessed  than  some  of  the  inquirers  have  manifested.  One  young  woman  on 
whom  I  called,  just  before  her  conversion,  said  she  had  not  tasted  food  or  wet  her  lips 
for  twenty -four  hours. 

“  A  most  remarkable  case  of  convictiou  occurred  in  the  school.  A  vouns.'  woman  was 
brought  into  such  distress  during  morning  devotions  that  her  case  attracted  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  whole  school.  For  her,  study  was  impossible.  She  absented  herself  from 
school ;  and  when,  after  a  lapse  of  days,  she  came  again,  her  face  shone  like  the  light. 
She  could  hardly  be  kept  from  going  around  among  the  scholars  during  the  morning 
session,  to  tell  what  Jesus  had  done  for  her. 

“A  most  touching  case  has  been  that  of  an  old  man,  seventy-six  years  of  age,  who 
has  bowed  night  after  night  in  the  midst  of  young  people,  and  now  his  testimony  is 
clear:  ‘  I  have  been  changed  from  nature  to  grace.’ 

“Yesterday  was  a  happy  day  for  us.  Thirteen  of  the  converts  were  received  into  our 
church,  eight  of^whom  were  young  men,  from  sixteen  to  twent3"-two  j'ears  of  age. 
Members  of  other  churches  came  to  witness  their  reception.  Some  of  the  converts  are 
waiting  tiU  the  next  communion  season  before  joining  our  church,  and  three  or  four 
of  them,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  friends,  have  joined  other  churches.” 

Of  the  revival  in  Atlanta  University  we  have  the  following  re¬ 
ports  : 

“  Atlanta  University,  Ga.,  April  12,  1872. 

“  During  the  whole  of  our  history  as  a  school,  now  nearly  three  j^ears,  there  has  been 
a  good  degree  of  religious  interest,  so  that  at  the  end  of  each  j^ear  we  have  been  able  to 
count  many  who,  during  the  year,  have  become  Christians  ;  but  never  before  have  we 
been  blessed  as  during  the  past  few  weeks. 

“The  Spirit’s  power  has  been  manifest  more  than  usual,  especially  in  the  prayer- 
meetings. 

“When  the  news  came  of  the  glorious  work  in  Macon,  and  some  of  our  pupils  heard 
that  many  of  their  former  mates  had  become  Christians,  one  and  another  arose,  ex¬ 
pressed  determination  to  serve  Christ,  and  asked  our  prayers.  This  opened  the  way  for 
others  who  had  been  waiting  only  for  some  one  to  begin,  and  we  had  a  most  blessed 
meeting.  There  was  conviction  of  sin  and  sorrow  for  it,  inexpressible ;  there  were 
praj^ers  that  wrestled  with  God ;  there  was  joy  unspeakable  for  forgiven  sin. 

“  A  young  man  who  had  begun  the  Christian  life  last  j^ear,  but  who  had  become  dis¬ 
couraged  by  difficulties  at  home  during  the  summer,  said  to  us  :  ‘  When  I  returned  this 
year  I  determined  to  attend  to  mj^  studies  and  have  nothing  to  do  with  religion.  I  tried 
to  occupy  my  mind  with  other  things,  and  to  drown  my  feelings  with  temporal  pleasures, 
but  it  was  no  use ;  I  grew  worse  rather  than  better.  Once  or  twice  I  left  the  meeting 
for  fear  I  should  speak  out  and  make  known  my  feelings.  I  even  prayed  God  to  take 
His  Spirit  from  me  ;  but  now  I  rejoice  and  praise  God  that  He  has  brought  me  to  him¬ 
self  again.’ 

“  Another  had  determined  not  to  meddle  with  religion.  He  said  :  ‘  I  got  on  veiy  well 
till  one  day  I  happened  to  see  my  Bible  covered  with  dust.  I  thought,  that  is  m//  Bible 
so  neglected  !  My  heart  must  be  as  foul  with  sin  as  my  Bible  is  with  dust.  I  could  not 
drive  that  fhought  from  my  mind,  and  yet  I  did  not  dare  to  undertake  the  Christian  life,  for 
fear  mj"  old  temptations  would  get  the  better  of  me  again.  But  I  thank  God  I  have  be¬ 
gun,  and  am  more  and  more  determined  to  persevere.  My  easily  besetting  sin  came  upon 
me  once  to-day,  but  instead  of  being  overthrown,  i  conquered  and  triumphed  over  it,  and 
such  joy  as  I  felt  in  that  triumph  I  never  experienced  before  in  my  life.’ 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


45 


“  Some  have  told  us  hoAV  stning'ely  they  were  impressed  on  first  eomingliere  to  seliool. 
They  supposed  they  Avere  comiiii*-  simply  to  study  and  learn ;  but  they  have  found  on 
every  side — in  the  family  Avorship,  in  the  Sunday  exereises,  in  the  kind  and  faithful 
Avords  of  teaehers,  in  the  very  atmosphere  of  the  plaee — a  constant  call  to  become 
learners  of  Christ,” 

The  revival  in  Atlanta  was  not  confined  to  the  University,  but  ex¬ 
tended  to  the  Congregational  church  and  Storrs  school,  in  another 
part  of  the  city.  The  pastor,  Rev.  C.  W.  Francis,  wrote  : 

“  Atlanta, ‘Ga.,  June  10,  1872. 

You  Avill  he  glad  to  hear  how  large  and  precious  an  ingathering  we  had  yesterday  as 
the  ‘  first-iruits  ’  of  the  glorious  spiritual  harvest  God  is  permitting  us  to  gather.  It  Avas 
the  day  for  our  monthly  communion  service,  and  we  welcomed  iwenty-three~ joxmg  con¬ 
verts  to  the  Lord’s  table,  a  larger  number  than  were  ever  received  into  this  church  at  one 
time.  Four  others  Avere  expecting  to  unite  Avith  them,  but  were  detained  by  providen¬ 
tial  causes,  and  quite  a  large  number  are  still  waiting  for  a  more  settled  experience  be¬ 
fore  taking  this  step ;  so  that  Ave  have  occasion  to  say,  ‘  The  Lord  hath  done  great 
things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad.’  Among  those  received  yesterday  were  some  of 
the  most  promising  of  our  young  people,  for  whom  we  ha\'e  long  prayed  and  waited, 
and  the  ncAvs  of  their  conversion  will  carry  gladness  to  many  faithful  teachers  who  have 
had  the  care  of  them  since  these  schools  opened.  All  ages  were  represented,  from  youth 
to  full  manhood ;  in  two  cases  husband  and  Avife  stood  together,  and  a  reformed  drunk¬ 
ard  Avas  not  the  least  among  the  trophies  of  divine  grace.  The  religious  experience  of 
most  was  very  clear  and  satisfactory,  evincing  nearly  an  entire  absence  of  extraA^agance 
and  superstition,  and  showing  how  broad  a  foundation  of  scriptural  truth  has  been  laid 
by  these  few  years  of  labor  in  day-school  and  Sabbath-school  and  church  service.” 


SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 

The  opening  of  Sunday-schools  began  with  our  first  work  in  the 
South,  and  is  constantly  pushed  forward.  Every  day-school,  as  far 
as  possible,  has  its  Sunday-school,  while  the  higher  institutions  and 
the  churches  not  only  have  the  home  Sunday-schools,  but  teachers 
and  older  pupils  also  maintain  others  in  the  outlying  places.  At 
Talladega,  Ala.,  so  widely  extended  was  this  efibrt  that  the  first 
Sabbath-School  Convention  ever  held  among  the  Freedmen,  convened 
at  that  place. 

TEMPERANCE. 

In  like  manner  have  all  our  schools  and  churches^pressed  upon  tfie 
Freedmen  the  duty  of  total  abstinence  as  their  only  emancipation 
from  what  threatens  to  be  a  worse  bondage  to  them  than  slavery 
itself. 

ENLARGED  CHURCH  WORK. 

The  Association  has  now  (1874)  'reached  a  point  where  it  is  pre¬ 
pared  for  a  great  enlargement  of  the  church  work.  The  schools  have 
enlightened  the  people,  and  the  pupils  who  are  going  forth  in  in¬ 
creasing  numbers  as  teachers  will  extend  this  intelligence  in  ever- 


46 


HISTORr  OF  THE 


widening  circles.  The  influence  of  the  old  colored  ministers,  who 
are  ignorant  and  immoral,  will  gradually  wane  under  the  new  light ; 
and  the  theological  classes  of  the  higher  schools  Avill  furnish  better 
pastors. 

.  But  this  enlargement  of  the  church  work  must  not  be  gained  by 
sacrificing  the  schools  and  colleges  ;  the  foundation-stones  of  the 
building  must  not  be  torn  up  to  furnish  materials  for  the  superstruc¬ 
ture.  The  institutions  should  be  strengthened,  while  enlarged  re¬ 
sources  should  be  given  to  extend  the  church  work. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Various  causes  delayed  the  missionaries  of  the  American  Mission¬ 
ary  Association  in  the  formation  of  ecclesiastical  bodies  ;  the  great 
distances,  expense  of  travel,  and  small  salaries.  But  at  length  a 
meeting  was  convened  in  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  November  24th,  1870, 
being,  as  it  chanced,  the  sixth  anniversary  of  the  “  Battle  of  the 
Clouds.”  We  doubt  if  a  more  significant  meeting  than  this  humble 
assembly  of  Congregational  ministers,  or  one  farther  reaching  in  its 
consequences,  has  been  held  in  sight  of  Lookout  Mountain  since  the 
armies  of  the  republic  j^assed  out  of  view. 

There  were  present  Revs.  II.  E.  Brown,  J.  A.  Bedient,  J.  E.  Cowan 
from  Alabama  ;  Revs.  Gabriel  Burdett,  E.  H.  Fairchild,  (President  of 
Berea  College,)  J.  G.  Fee,  from  Kentucky  ;  Rev.  M.  E.  Strieby,  Sec¬ 
retary  American  Missionary  Association,  New-York  ;  Revs.  H.  S. 
Bennett,  T.  E.  Bliss,  P.  S.  Feemster,  W.  W.  Mallory  and  E.  O.  Tade, 
Tennessee  ;  Rev.  Edward  Bull,  North-Carolina  ;  Rev.  E.  M.  Cravath, 
District  Secretary,  American  Missionary  Association,  Ohio  ;  Rev.  S. 
C.  Feemster,  Mississippi ;  Rev.  J.  W.  Ilealy,  Louisiana  ;  Revs.  C.  W* 
Francis,  G.  A.  Hood,  E.  E.  Rogers,  from  Georgia  ;  and  five  dele¬ 
gates. 

Revs.  T.  M.  King  and  John  Reding,  of  Chattanooga,  were  invited 
to  sit  as  corresponding  members. 

Most  of  them  were  appointees  of  the  American  Missionary  Associa¬ 
tion,  and  were  aiming  at  the  impartial  elevation  of  the  masses  in  the 
South.  They  had  hitherto  toiled  in  isolation,  never  before  having  all 
met  for  the  warm  grasp  of  the  hand,  the  gathering  around  the  mercy- 
seat,  and  the  comparison  of  plans  of  eflbrt.  Three  days  were  spent 
delightfully  and  profitably.  Facts  encouraging  and  otherwise  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  condition  of  the  colored  people  were  spread  out,  the 
unanimous  conviction  being  expressed  that  more  must  be  done  to 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


47 


utilize  what  has  already  heeu  done,  and  to  save  the  people  from  the 
dangers  besetting  them  from  intemperance,  unchastity,  popery,  and 
the  cunning  and  hostility  of  their  former  masters.  Cheering  accounts 
were  given  of  the  transforming  power  of  Christian  schools,  and  of 
the  young  cliurches  formed  of  intelligent  and  jnous  members. 

A  committee,  appointed  to  consider  the  propriety  of  organizing 
associations  or  conferences  in  the  South,  reported  favorably,  and  it 
was  voted  to  form  local  conferences  havine:  as  centres  some  of  the  im- 
portant  cities  of  the  South. 

In  conformity  with  this  recommendation,  .the  .South-Western 
Conference  was  soon  formed  in  ISTew-Orleans,  and'now  (1874)  em¬ 
braces  nine  churches,  all  in  Louisiana.  The  Central  South  Con¬ 
ference  was  constituted  October  25th,  1871,  and  in  1874  included 
nine  churches  in  Tennessee,  four  in  Western  Geoi'gia,  live  in  Alabama, 
and  two  in  Mississippi.  The  Congregational  Conference  of 
Texas  was  organized  December  4th,  1871,  and  contains  three  churches 
in  that  State.  The  Association  of  Christian  Churches  and 
Ministers  of  Kentucky,  was  formed  in  1873,  having  five  churches 
in  Kentucky.  There  are  in  1874  live  churches  in  Korth-Carolina,  one 
in  South-Carolina,  and  four  in  Eastern  Georgia,  awaiting  the  organiza¬ 
tion  of  a  conference  that  shall  afford  them  the  fellowship  of  the 
churches. 

CONSOLIDATION - THE  DESPISED  RACES. 

At  the  Annual  Meetinsc  in  1874  the  Association  resolved  to  tnke 
measures  to  transfer  all  its  foreign  missions,  except  that  of  Western 
Africa,  and  concentrate  its  efforts  mainly  on  the  three  despised  races 
of  men,  the  Kegro,  the  Indian,  and  the  Chinese,  seeking  to  lift  them 
up  from  ignorance  and  caste  prejudice,  and  to  make  them  the  pivots 
of  religious  harmony  in  America  and  the  bearers  of  Christian  civili¬ 
zation  to  the  lands  of  their  forefathers. 


THE  Indians. 


THE  NEW  POLICY  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. 

President  Lincoln  has  the  honor  of  giving  liberty  to  the  negro.  General  Grant's  ad¬ 
ministration  has  the  credit  of  devising  the  plan  of  honest  dealing  with  the  Indian,  and 
of  attempting  his  industrial  and  moral  elevation. 

The  main  features  of  this  plan  are  these  : 

The  “  Indian  Ring”  is  broken  up  and  superseded  by  a  commission,  composed  of  men 
whose  characters  are  a  guarantee  of  honesty,  who  supervise  the  purchase  and  disburse¬ 
ment  of  supplies,  and  have  general  inspection  over  Indian  affairs.  The  different  relig- 


48 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


ious  bodies  and  Missionary  Societies  are  invited  not  merely  to  cooperate,  but  to  take 
responsibility  in  the  great  work.  The  Quakers  were  first  selected  as  a  notification  and 
assurance  of  the  purposes  of  the  Oovernment,  and  the  result  thus  far  has  justified  ex¬ 
pectations.  Other  denominations  are  cordially  entering  into  the  plan. 

The  Indian  tribes  are  placed  under  the  care  of  six  superintendents,  and  are  further 
subdivided  into  about  fifty  agencies.  These  agencies  embrace  varying  numbers  of  In¬ 
dians  accordingTo  proximity,  and  the  full  working  force  in  the  larger  ones  consists  of 
an  agent,  farmer,  blacksmith,  carpenter,  physician,  and  teachers.  The  Government  ap¬ 
points  the  superintendents.  The  religious  bodies  nominate  the  agents,  and  the  agent 
nominates  his  assistants.  The  whole  of  these  employees,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
are  to  be  under  the  care  and  supervision  of  the  religious  bodies  and  the  Missionary  or¬ 
ganizations,  as  well  as  of  the  Government. 

The  assignments'thus  far  made  are  :  to  the  Catholics,  the  North-western  Reservations ; 
to  the  Presbyterians,  the  Southern  and  middle  tribes  ;  to  the  Quakers,  those  in  Kansas 
and  Nebraska  ;  to  the  Baptists,  Methodists,  and  Southern  Presbyterians,  the  Indian  Ter¬ 
ritory  ;  to  the  Episcopalians  and  the  American  Board,  the  Sioux  of  Dacotah ;  and  to  the 
American  Missionary  Association,  the  Chippewas  and  other  bands  in  Michigan,  Wiscon¬ 
sin,  and  Minnesota. 

THE  OLD  REGIME. 

As  an  illustration  of  this,  we  give  the  following  sketch  of  the  state 
of  affairs  as  found  by  one  of  our  agents  in  entering  upon  his  duties  : 

“  At - the  Government  business  had  been  left  pretty  much  to  run  itself.  My  pre¬ 

decessor  never  went  near  the  Indians,  and  it  is  very  seldom  that  an  agent  has  visited 
them.  The  employees  have  passed  away  their  time  as  easily  as  possible,  and  get  their 

salaries.  There  is  not  a  building  at - —that  is  fit  fori  any  decent  man  to  live  in.  I 

have  dismissed  a  part  of  those  employees,  and  intend  to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  the  rest 
at  the  close  of  the  month.  It  is  believed  by  the  Indians  that  the  blacksmith  threw  more 
iron  and  steel  into  the  lake  than  he  worked  up  for  them.  I  dismissed  him  early  in  Feb¬ 
ruary,  and  the  night  after  he  received  notice  of  his  dismission,  the  Government  house 
in  which  he  lived,  with  shop  and  tools,  was  burnt  up.  The  Indians  don’t  believe  it  was 
done  by  accident. 

“  My  predecessor  sent  a  man  there  last  fall  to  put  the  sawmill  in  order  and  run  it.  At 
the  time  of  the  payment,  the  1st  of  November,  he  informed  me  that  the  saw-mill  was  all 
ready  to  run,  but  for  want  of  a  little  strap-leather  to  lace  the  belts  together  he  had  not 
been  able  to  run  the  mill  at  all.  I  immediately  ordered  a  supply,  and  authorized  the 
miller  to  purchase  whatever  was  needed  to  run  the  mill,  and  employed  hands  to  get  in 
logs  ;  but  I  found,  on  visiting  him,  that  though  ;the  mill,  as  he  said,  was  in  complete 
order,  with  logs  enough  in  the  pond  to  make  75,000  feet  of  lumber,  he  had  not  been  able 
to  put  a  roof  on  the  mill  or  inclose  it !  The  plea  was,  that  while  he  was  at  his  meals 
the  Indians  would  steal  and  lug  off  all  the  boards  he  could  saw ;  and  I  judged  from  the 
appearance  of  the  mill,  and  the  number  of  slabs  discoverable  about  it,  that  they  would 
not  have  to  exert  themselves  overmuch  to  keep  up  with  him.  There  has  probably  been 
a  lack  of  water  some  of  the  time,  but  if  talk  could  supply  its  place  he  might  run  several 
saw-mills  regularly,  and  have  a  surplus  to  spare.  I  concluded  we  could  dispense  with 
his  services  for  the  future.” 

THE  NEW  ERA. 


The  following  items  will  show  some  of  the  fruits  of  the  new 
policy  : 

Red  Lake  Agency^  1871. 

The  Rev.  S.  G.  Wright,  formerly  a  missionary  of  this  Association 
among  the  Indians,  says  : 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION.  49 

The  Indians  iiavc  ciTltivatcd  thirty  acres,  two-thirds  of  it  planted  to  corn,  and  the  bal¬ 
ance  to  potatoes,  raising  for  this  year’s  crop  not  far  from  six  thousand  bushels  of  com 
and  three  thousand  bushels  of  potatoes.  This,  with  the  abundant  fish  from  the  lake, 
furnishes  the  whole  population  with  a  comfortable  supply  of  .food.  The  Indians  have 
erected  during  the  summer  sixty- two  log-houses,  performing  all  the  labor  with  their  own 
hands,  except  the  liauling  of  the  logs  together,  which  was  done  in  part  by  the  govern¬ 
ment  farmer,  and  in  several  instances  carrying  the  logs  themselves. 

Every  family  but  two  on  this  side  the  lake,  has  now  a  warm,  and  for  them,  a  commo¬ 
dious  house.  But  with  their  new  houses,  their  wants  begin  to  multiply,  and  they  are 
asking  for  carpenter’s  tools,  and  more  lumber,  that  they  may  be  able  to  make  benches, 
tables,  bedsteads,  etc. 

The  Indians  are  much  better  clothed  this  year  than  heretofore.  I  have  purchased  corn 
and  given  in  exchange  army  blankets,  coats,  and  pants  at  low  prices,  and  also  paid  for 
labor  in  clothing.  The  traders  have  also  purchased  com.  This,  with  their  annuity  goods, 
makes  them  quite  comfortable. 

We  hold  religious  meetings  in  the  upper  story  of  the  warehouse,  which  has  been  fin¬ 
ished  oflf  in  anticipation  of  a  day-school,  which  we  hope  to  open  in  a  few  weeks  .  .  . 

What  is  the  cause  of  the  remarkable  awakening  of  these  Indians  to  industry,  and  of  their 
strong  desire  to  approach  civilization  ?  There  have  been  no  special  efiforts  with  them 
this  year,  and  but  little  more  than  the  ordinary  expenditure  has  been  made  by  the 
Government.  But  what  they  were  entitled  to  receive  they  have  had,  and,  more  than  all, 
they  have  recognized  in  the  men  sent  to  deal  with  them  and  care  for  them — the  agent, 
and  physician,  and  miller,  and  carpenter,  and  farmer — friends  whom  it  was  safe  to  trust 
and  follow,  and  they  have  been  encouraged  and  inspired  by  their  advice  and  example. 
They  have  all  along  desired  better  things.  Now  they  see  the  better  life  is  at  hand  for 
them,  and  they  begin  to  build  and  plan  for  the  future. 

Mr.  Wright  also  speaks  again  of  his  encouragement  in  the  religious  meetings.  Never 
in  all  his  years  of  missionary  life  did  he  see  so  much  interest  in  the  Sabbath  gathering, 
and  feel  so  much  hope  as  he  does  now. 


White  Earth  Agency^  1873. 

Rev.  E.  P.  Smith,  now  at  the  head  of  the  Indian  Bureau  in  Wash¬ 
ington,  had  been  doing  an  exceedingly  valuable  work  in  a  subordinate 
position  among  the  Indians  in  the  North-west — seeking  only  to  make 
himself  useful — and  thus  unconsciously  preparing  himself  for  his  pre¬ 
sent  position.  Mrs.  Smith,  who  accompanied  her  husband  in  his  resi¬ 
dence  among  the  Indians,  has  been  busy  also  in  the  good  work.  The 
subjoined  letter  gives  interesting  facts  showing  the  impulse  for  im¬ 
provement  among  the  sons  of  the  forest. 

“  My  heart  is  so  full  of  Indian  work,  I  want  to  give  you  a  few  words. 

“I  have  been  in  the  night-school  aU  winter,  and  have  learned  to  love  these  children 
of  the  forest.  We  are  not  taking  a  vacation  in  the  evening- school  now  with  the  day- 
school,  because  our  red  children  want  us  to  continue  the  school,  until  we  find  the 
farming  work  interferes  with  it.  We  average  thirty  men,  women,  and  children  that  can 
not  be  reached  by  the  boarding-school.  I  have  three  classes  of  young  men,  and  am 
trying  to  teach  arithmetic,  reading  and  writing— enough  to  help  them  in  every-day  life. 
Those  that  commenced  the  first  of  the  winter,  can  read  very  well,  write  a  fair  hand,  and 
perform  examples  in  addition  and  subtraction,  and  are  just  beginning  on  multipli¬ 
cation. 

“  My  third  class  I  commenced  last  week  Thursday.  Some  of  our  most  hopeful  work¬ 
ing  young  men  have  come  into  it.  I  said  to  them,  ‘  Now,  boys,  I  want  to  fit  you  for 

4 


50 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Indian  clerks.  We  are  going  to  have  Indians  for  clerks,  just  as  soon  as  we  can  make 
them.  Yes  !  I  expect  to  see  Indian  boys  at  Washington  before  I  die.'  Tom  Hardin 
(who  understands  English  quite  weU,  and  is  very  smart  and  reliable)  almost  jumped  off 
liis  feet.  If  you  could  have  seen  the  enthusiasm  in  that  class  that  night,  and  how  hard 
they  worked  to  get  just  the  ideas  I  wished  to  give  in  this  first  lesson  in  arithmetic,  you 
would  say  the  day  is  dawning  for  the  red  men. 

“  Every  thing  brightens  around  us.  We  are  full  of  hope  for  the  future.  We  thank 
God  and  go  forward.” 


CHINESE  IN  AMERICA. 

The  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Association  in  1869  adopted  the  fol¬ 
lowing  : 

“  Eesolved^  That  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Association  to  inaugurate  and  prosecute  a  vigor 
ous  missionary  work  among  the  Chinese  in  the  United  States.” 

The  Annual  Report  of  1871  says  : 

“The  wisdom  of  our  entering  upon  the  work  of  missions  among  the  Chinese  in 
America  has  been  completely  demonstrated.  The  schools  at  Oakland,  Stockton,  Sacra¬ 
mento,  and  San  Francisco  have  been  successful  in  numbers,  in  the  increasing  interest  of 
the  pupils,  in  their  effect  upon  the  general  public  sentiment,  especially  of  the  members 
of  the  Congregational  churches,  in  reaching,  as  at  Stockton,  the  Chinese  women,  whose 
condition  seemed  hopeless  before,  and,  above  aU,  in  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as 
it  would  seem,  in  several  instances,  to  the  spiritual  awakening  of  their  darkened  minds. 

“A  converted  Chinaman,  Gam,  one  of  the  three  who  united  with  the  Oakland  Con¬ 
gregational  Church  last  year,  having  visited  China  and  returned,  is  now  in  our  employ. 
He  assists  at  different  stations  in  gathering  in  pupils.  They  do  not  rush  eagerly  to  the 
schools  as  soon  as  opened,  as  do  the  children  of  the  freedmen  ;  but  when  they  find  no 
money  is  to  be  made  out  of  them,  and  that  the  teachers  mean  only  to  do  them  good,  and 
especially  that  there  is  an  excellent  opportunity  to  learn  the  English  language,  they 
come ;  and  having  once  got  acquainted,  they  soon  become  attached  to  their  teaehers. 
They  do  not  object  to  reading  in  the  Bible ;  on  the  contrary,  soon  begin  to  show  interest 
in  the  meaning  of  what  they  read,  and  eagerly  ask  questions  about  it.” 

LETTER  FROM  GAM. 

“Yon  invited  me  to  write  you  a  letter.  I  have  no  knowledge  to  write  well  but  I  am 
very  anxious  to  take  my  liberty  and  try  to  do  the  best  I  can.  I  am  a  great  sinner  but  I 
know  the  Lord  has  promise  to  pardon  those  who  repent  and  believe  in  him  also  said  we 
must  love  one  another  and  so  I  always  glad  to  do  as  I  have  done  by  but  the  understand¬ 
ing  which  I  had  is  not  enough  to  spread  abroad  the  wisdom  of  God,  so  I  beg  you  to  ask 
God  to  enlarge  my  heart  with  his  Holy  Spirit  then  I  will  sow  the  seeds  in  to  their  hearts 
which  we  may  receive  either  sixty  or  a  hundred-fold.  Otherwise  I  must  do  all  I  can  for 
the  Redeemer  sake  and  trust  him  with  my  whole  heart  because  he  first  love  us  and  gave 
himself  for  us.” 

The  Annual  Report  of  1872  says: 

“  The  Lord  has  set  his  approving  seal  upon  the  efforts  to  open  the  minds  of  the  Chinese 
in  California  to  the  Gospel.  Five  converts  united  with  the  Third  Congregational  Church, 
San  Francisco,  October  6th,  instant.  Rev.  Dr.  Mooar,  of  our  Advisory  Board,  is  tem¬ 
porarily  preaching  to  that  church.  Four  had  united  with  the  First  Congregational 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


51 


Church  at  Oakland  n  hilc  he  was  pastor.  One  has  joined  the  First  Congregational  Churcli 
at  Sacramento,  dnrii\g  the  year.  Eight  originally  applied  to  join  the  Third  Church,  San 
Francisco,  while  the  Rev.  Wm.  C.  Pond  was  its  pastor.  A  portion  of  the  church  op- 
ix)6cd  their  admission,  and  they  were  put  ui)on  a  probation,  at  first,  of  two  months.  At 
tlie  end  of  that  period,  the  opposition  in  the  church  still  existing,  their  uniting  with 
the  church  was  postponed  six  months.  Mr.  Pond  says  : 

“  ‘  This  second  postponement  was  of  course  a  severe  disappointment  to  these  brethren. 
The  reality  of  their  conversion  was  attested  by  the  spirit  in  which  they  received  it. 
Even  ill  the  first  shock  of  it,  it  did  not  shake  their  purpose  to  be  Christ’s.  “  I  shall 
follow  Jesus  though  I  join  no  church,”  was  the  reply.”  ’  ” 

CHINESE  CONVERTS  AT  STOCKTON. 

Miss  Burnett  wrote  in  August,  1873 : 

“  Tai  Chung  is,  I  think,  a  Christian,  though  he  has  never  united  with  the  church.  He 
is  willing  to  do  this.  His  woMs  are :  ‘  I  want  to  do  all  Jesus  requires, just'as  the  Book  says.' 
He  was  away  in  the  country  nearly  a  yeai' ;  is  now  employed  in  a  family . ” 

“  Stockton,  Sept.  1, 1873. 

“Tai  Chung  is  propounded  for  admission  to  the  church,  (Congregational,)  to  join  next 
Sabbath  on  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ.  Mr.  Post  (the  pastor)  and  others'are  fully 
satisfied  with  the  evidence  he  gives. 

“I  believe  Ah  Hing  became  a  Christian  last  week ;  he  is  about  fourteen  years  of  age. 
I  have  not  written  of  him  before.  Others  are  giving  some  evidence  of  the  infiuence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  upon  their  hearts.  To  God  be  all  the'praise.” 

PERSECUTION. 

Miss  Burrows,  at  Santa  Cruz,  says: 

“I  am  sorry  to  tell  you  that  the  boys  in  going  home  from  school  last  week  were 
stoned  and  cut  and  abused  generally.  They  came  rushing  into  the  school-yard  after 
clubs  to  defend  themselves  with.  They  were  mad  enough  ^to  kill  any  body,  so  I  went 
home  with  them,  and  also  talked  to  the  men  (where  was  the  manhood  ?)  who  were  abus¬ 
ing  them.  They  treated  me  politely  and  said  there  should  be  no  more  of  it ;  but  it  will 
take  some  time  to  bring  the  school  up  again.” 

A  NEW  MOVEMENT - CALL  FOR  A  MISSION  HOME. 

The  work  of  the  American  Missionary  Association  among  the 
Chinese  of  the  Pacific  coast,  has  been  through  Christian  schools  and 
not  by  organizing  churches,  the  converts  being  recommended  to  join 
the  Congregational  churches  there  which  aid  us  in  sustaining  schools. 

But  a  new  departure  is  called  for,  originating  in  the  special  interest 
developed  in  the  school  in  Oakland,  Cal.,  where  religious  inquiry 
superseded,  in  part,  the  school  services. 

We  quote  from  the  monthly  report  of  Rev.  W.  C.  Pond,  our  Super¬ 
intendent  of  Chinese  work : 

“  The  Oakland  school  is  reported  as  taught  only  on  four  days  of  the  week,  because  on 
Thursday  evening  of  each  week  a  sort  of  great  convocation  of  the  Chinese  is  held  in 
the  chapel,  which  partakes  more  of  the  nature  of  a  religious  service  than  a  school.  The 
interest  among  the  Chinese  in  this  meeting  has  greatly  increased  of  late.  The  chapel  is 
crowded,  and  our  helper.  Gam,  tells  me  that  it  seems  as  though  they  might  have  to  go 


52 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


into  tlie  main  audience  room  of  the  church.  The  unbelieving  Chinese  began  to  attend 
it  a  few  weeks  since,  and  to  participate  in  the  conversation,  raising  questions  from  Con¬ 
fucius  and  other  Chinese  classics.” 

Gam  and  the  Chinese  converts  ask  the  A.  M.  A.  to  assist  in  secur¬ 
ing  a  house  and  establishing  a  mission  head-quarters  in  Oakland,  Cal. 
Mr.  Pond,  after  considering  the  case,  and  examining  a  building  that 
might  be  rented  for  the  purpose,  writes  us  : 

“  After  I  had  looked  at  the  building,  I  had  a  meeting  of  our  Chinese  class.  Eighteen 
were  present,  all  of  them  (as  we  hope)  believers.  We  talked  and  prayed  about  the 
matter,  till  almost  11  o’clock  at  night.  I  told  them  to  see  what  they  themselves  could 
do  towards  furnishing  the  chapel  and  defraying  other  expenses  ;  believing  that  thus  I 
should  test  the  matter  quite  etFectually,  and  I  said  I  would  call  to-day  ou  some  of  them 
to  learn  the  result.  I  thought  that  it  might  be  they  would  show  me  a  subscription  of 
$100.  I  found  one  carried  already  up  to  $365,  and  not  yet  complete. 

“  I  feel  that  to  take  this  step  is  to  commit  ourselves  to  a  large  advance,  not  so  much 
in  expenditure,  as  in  work.  But  in  view  of  the  zeal,  the  good  judgment,  and  the  gm. 
erous  pledges  of  these  brethren,  I  feel  as  though  it  would  be  a  great  mistake,  amount¬ 
ing  almost  to  a  crime,  to  say  No  to  them. 

“I  ask  you  to  bid  me  go  forward.  I  seem  to  see  in  this  which  has  come  from 
our  Chinese  brethren  themselves,  a  solution  of  the  j^roblem  over  which  I  have  been 
thinking  and  praying  anxiously.  For  I  have  felt  it  deeply  that  these  brethren  were 
— as  Chung  Mon  said — ‘like  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  and  like  orphans  without  a 
home.’  ” 

THE  FREEDMEN’S  MISSIONS  AID  SOCIETY  IN  GREAT 

BRITAIN. 

The  organization  of  this  society  was  perfected  in  1872.  Its  presi¬ 
dent  is  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  ;  its  treasurer  the  Hon.  Arthur  Kin- 
naird,  M.P. ;  its  council  and  executive  committee  embrace  some  of 
the  best-known  Christian  philanthropists  of  Great  Britain.  The 
honorary  secretaries  are  Rev.  L.  D.  Bevan,  LL.B.,  and  Rev.  Henry 
Jones,  M.A.  Rev.  J.  W.  Healy,  D.D.,  now  returned  to  this  country, 
has  been  its  active  and  efficient  corresponding  secretary,  and  has  se¬ 
cured  considerable  sums  of  money  to  aid  in  the  education  of  Freed- 
.men  as  missionaries  to  Africa. 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


53 


FACTS  AND  ANECDOTES. 


THE  FREEDMEN. 

POVERTY. 

In  the  early  days  of  freedom,  the  sufferings  of  the  ex-slaves  were’ 
very  great  from  hunger  and.  cold.  We  subjoin  some  anecdotes  that 
show  not  merely  their  poverty,  but  the  cheerful  patience  with  which 
it  was  borne. 

From  Washington,  D.  C.,  1869: 

“kind  o’  used”  to  being  hungry. 

“  Two  or  three  cases  I  have  recorded  in  my  note-book.  Mary  Rideout,  an  old  woman 
of  sixty,  had  to  borrow  a  pair  of  shoes  to  come  to  the  office  in. 

“  ‘  What  do  you  have  to  eat?’ 

“  ‘Just  what  I  can  pick  up.  Sometimes  a  lady  that  I  used  to  live  with  sends  me  a 
little  tea  and  sugar.’  , 

“  ‘  Do  you  eat  three  times  a  day  ?’ 

“  ‘  No.  Sometimes  twice,  when  I  can^get  it ;  and  when  I  can’t,  then  once.  Haven’t 
had  a  mouthful  yet  to-day,’  (eleven  o’clock.) 

“  ‘  How  do  you  live  without  eating  ?’ 

“  ‘  Oh  !  I  gets  kind  o’  used  to  it.’  ” 

“  PERISH  DEAD  ”  BEFORE  He’d  STEAL. 

“  Mary’s  husband,  an  old  man,  quite  infirm,  says,  ‘  Sometimes  I  goes  twenty-four 
hours,  and  has  nothing  but  water.  Sometimes  my  daughter  earns  a  little,  and  goes  out 
and  brings  ten  cents’  worth  o’  meal,  and  we  has  a  corn-cake ;  or  she  picks  up  rags  and 
bones,  an’  so  earns  a  little.  Any  way  to  get  along  honestly^  for  I  think  I’d  perish  dead 
afore  I’d  steal.’  ” 

From  Fortress  Monroe,  Va.,  1867  : 

“We  have  had  continual  snow  and  ice,  making  the  roads  almost  impassable.  The 
most  destitute,  who  depend  for  fuel  chiefly  upon  what  they  ‘tote’  two  and  three  miles 
from  the  woods,  have  suffered  extremely  for  the  want  of  a  fire.  With  the  little  work 
oifered,  they  can  not  earn  sufficient  to  buy  wood  at  the  present  high  prices.  I  have  done 
something  for  the  aged  and  widows,  by  giving  them  a  load,  a  half  load,  or  even  a  few 
sticks,  as  I  had  it  in  my  power.  The  day  after  New-Year’s,  I  found  a  number  without 
fire  or  meal.  An  old  woman  and  her  little  grandchild  were  lying  in  bed,  with  the  snow 
drifted  in  and  lying  about  the  neck  and  shoulders  of  the  little  boy.  They  were  in  bed, 
because  they  had  no  wood  and  no  meal.  I  told  her  to  get  up,  she  should  have  both.  At 
other  places  where  there  had  been  no  breakfast,  I  was  able  to  furnish  meal. 


54 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


“  I  returned  home  asking  myself  the  question,  what  will  these  people  do?  No  one 
was  hauling  wood  and  there  was  none  in  the  village  for  sale.  Finally,  by  considerable 
coaxing  and  by  showing  a  greenback,  I  obtained  a  dollar’s  worth  of  wood,  which  I  divid¬ 
ed  among  ten  families — two,  three,  and  four  sticks  in  a  place.  Some  families,  in  their 
extreme  suifering  with  cold,  have  burnt  up  their  stools  and  even  their  bedsteads.  One 
old  woman,  who  had  burnt  every  article  of  furniture,  began  to  take  up  the  floor  of  her 
house,  and  while  putting  it  upon  the  Are,  she  says  this  Scripture  came  into  her  mind  : 
‘  For  we  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dissolved  we  have  a  build¬ 
ing  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens,’  and  she  sat  down  to 
think  and  praise  God  and  feel  happy.” 

From  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1867  : 

“  A  short  time  ago,  two  orphan  girls,  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  fifteen,  came  to  us 
saying,  ‘  Mammy  died  two  days  ago,  and  the  man  says  that  we  must  get  out  of  his  house 
to-day;  we  don’t  know  what  to  do,  nobody  wants  us,  and  nobody  won’t  let  us  stay.’ 
'‘How  long  has  your  mother  been  sick?’  ‘Eight  or  nine  months.’  ‘Where  is  your 
father?’  ‘  He  died  about  a  year  ago.’  ‘Who  took  care  of  your  mother?’  ‘We  did 
all  we  could.’  ‘How  did  you  get  your  food?’  ‘ Picking  up  rags  and  old  iron;  some¬ 
times  we  would  make  a  dime  or  two.’  ‘  What  did  you  do  with  your  money?’  ‘Buy 
a  little  meal  and  potatoes,  and  sometimes  folks  would  give  us  a  little  gi’ub,’  (fragments 
of  food.)  ‘  Did  you  ever  have  to  go  without?’  ‘Yes,  heaps  of  times.’  ‘Can  you 
read?’  ‘No.’  ‘Would  you  like  to  learn?’  ‘Yes,  marm,  but  we’se  got  no  place  to 
stay.’ 

“  The  poor  girls  have  been  provided  for.  The  elder  is  engaged  to  do  house-work,  and 
the  younger  is  staying  with  a  woman  near  and  attending  school.  Both  are  doing  well. 

“An  idea  of  my  daily  visits  may  be  gained  by  an  extract  from  my  diary. 

“  ‘March  7.  Find  E.  N.  suffering  very  much.  She  and  her  four  children  sleep  in  the 
same  bed  when  it  is  too  cold  for  them  to  sleep  on  the  floor.  The  room  is  small,  with 
neither  window  nor  chair.  They  have  no  wood,  and  the  three  children  are  just  starting 
for  school  without  breakfast.  In  the  next  room  an  old  woman  is  sick ;  she  must  move 
soon,  so  I  gave  her  fifty  cents  to  meet  the  expenses.  Her  husband  died  years  ago.  Sbe 
loves  to  think  and  talk  about  him,  and  says  they  lived  “  happy  and  loving  as  little  chil¬ 
dren.”  ’ 

“  Dolly  K.  is  the  mother  of  twenty-one  children,  but  all  are  away  from  her  ;  she  was 
turned  out  of  the  house  when  sick,  and  is  now  with  Mrs.  James.  She  says  the  Lord  put 
it  in  my  heart  to  remember  her  wants.” 

From  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1865. — Poor  whites: 

“The  abodes  of  the  refugees,  the  ‘White  Trash’  of  the  South,  and  the  ‘contra¬ 
bands,’  stand  here  side  by  side.  Two  long  rows  of  rooms  under  one  roof,  a  window  and 
a  door  in  each. 

“  But  the  refugees !  White  !  Let  him  who  has  only  color  to  elevate  him  look  out  for 
dear  ‘equality.’  ‘Whyl’  says  every  body,  ‘these  don’t  look  half  so  well  as  the 
others  !’  No,  they  don’t.  No  words  can  portray  the  picture  of  an  unwashed,  uncomb 
ed,  smoking,  swearing,  Arkansas  feminine  refugee.  Come  into  ‘Ward  6th,’  the  hos¬ 
pital  for  the  women  and  children.  Did  you  ever  see  such  hideous,  skinny  little  beings 
called  children  ?  In  that  corner  yonder,  a  woman  died  the  other  day,  who  just  before 
the  last  gasp,  with  a  faint  oath,  jerked  a  quid  of  tobacco  out  upon  the  floor. 

“No  dweller  in  thrifty  New-England  could  fashion  with  his  wildest  fancy  such  scenes, 
such  sounds,  such  miseries,  as  the  South  has  disgorged  and  cast  out  upon  us.  One  cold 
day  last  winter,  a  party  of  fifty  white  refugees  landed  on  the  levee.  Government  ambu¬ 
lances  brought  them  to  Benton  Barracks.  The  board  platform  in  front  of  the  ‘  Quar¬ 
ters’  was  covered  with  their  ‘  plunder,’  as  they  called  it,  old  washboards,  tin  candle¬ 
sticks,  feather-beds,  boxes,  and  broken  spinning-wheels.  It  was  sad  to  see  them  with  all 
their  poor  little  worldly  store,  women  lank,  gaunt,  with  half-naked,  hungry,  crying  chil- 


AMEKICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION.  55 

(Iren  clinging  to  them,  standing  silent,  stolid — ‘  husband  shot  in  the  bushes  on  the  road 
back,’  crippled  men  armless  or  legless,  young  boys  and  girls,  bareheaded  and  barefoot¬ 
ed.  It  was  a  keen,  piercing  day.  I  was  shivering  in  my  furs.  One  woman  from  ‘  down 
tlie  Red  River  ’  sat  waiting  without  a  motion  or  grimace  for  a  place  to  go,  with  only 
one  thin  cotton  undergarment,  and  a  white  muslin  dress.  There  seemed  to  be  no  place . 
for  them.  Every  room  was  full ;  at  last  they  were  put  in  a  long,  empty  room  which  had 
been  used  for  a  dining  hall.  The  blankets  were  exhausted,  but  we  gave  them  soldiers’ 
cast-off  overcoats  (of  which  fortunately  there  was  a  quantity  turned  over  by  Govern¬ 
ment  for  their  use),  and  dinner,  and  a  board.  That  was  all  we  could  do  that  night. 
The  next  morning  the  first  sight,  as  I  entered,  right  opposite  the  door,  was  a  man,  cold, 
white  and  dead.  The  wail  of  little  children  rose  on  every  side,  and  oaths,  fearful  wo¬ 
men's  oaths  !  I  tried  to  make  my  way  to  the  other  side  of  the  room  to  a  little  girl  who 
was  crjfing  bitterly,  but  at  every  step  I  trod  on  some  living  human  being.  ‘  Mammy ! 
mammy  !’  the  little  shrieker  cried.  ‘  Her  mammy  died  on  the  boat,’  a  woman  near  her 
said  to  me.  That  was  the  old  story.” 


RELIGIOUS  EXCITEMENT— IMMORALITY. 

We  have  no  wish  to  conceal,  and,  certainly,  none  to  magnify 
the  vices  of  the  colored  people,  but  their  peculiar  faults,  their 
emotional  religion,  the  ignorance  and  corruption  of  a  large  share  of 
their  old  ministers,  as  well  as  of  the  people,  must  be  understood  in 
order  to  appreciate  their  need  of  enlightenment. 

MORAL  CONDITION. 

“The  moral  condition  of  this  people,  although  far  from  what  it  should  be,  is 
hopeful.  It  must  be  admitted,  they  are  prone  to  deceive  and  pilfer,  but  perhaps  no 
more  so  than  any  jjeople  would  be  after  such  a  manner  of  life.  To  deceive  and  to  pilfer 
has  been  a  part  of  their  education.  By  means  of  the  one  they  have  often  escaped  the 
lash  of  a  cruel  master,  and  by  the  other,  they  have  sometimes  been  able  to  satisfy  the 
pangs  of  hunger.  Says  an  old  man,  who  had  been  a  slave  all  his  life  :  ‘We  were  taught 
to  steal,  if  we  did  not  steal  from  master.’  ” 

CORRUPTION  IN  THE  OLD  COLORED  CHURCHES - IMMORALITY  OF  THE 

MINISTERS. 

“As  for  the  colored  churches,  they  ‘are  in  all  things  very  religious;’  but  they  have 
not  only  lost  their  purity,  but  have  almost  lost  the  idea  that  religion  is  a  purifier.  The 
colored  people  have  just  closed  a  meeting  of  eight  days,  not  far  from  here.  The  preacher 
in  charge  was  a  known  and  acknowledged  libertine;  and  is  now,  I  am  told,  only  just  recov¬ 
ered  from  a  sound  beating  he  lately  received  from  one  whom  he  had  justly  offended  by 
his  lewdness.  I  leave  you  to  judge  for  yourself  of  the  morals  of  a  people  who  will  tol¬ 
erate  such  a  man  as  their  spiritual  guide.  These  people  go  to  their  big  meetings,  it 
appears  to  me,  very  much  as  they  would  go  to  a  ball.  There  is,  however,  this  additional 
attraction  to  their  meetings :  they  expect  their  revelings  to  please  God  and  fit  them  in 
some  mysterious  way  for  the  joys  of  heaven.” 

RELIGIOUS  EXCITEMENT. 

“  Meetings  are  held  in  the  colored  church  every  night  in  the  week,  and  continue  till 
twelve  o’clock,  or  even  later.  The  exercises  are  of  the  most  emotional  and  demonstra- 


56 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


live  kind.  Women  go  into  a  perfect  frenzy  of  excitement  and  roU  on  the  floor  for  two 
or  three  hours  together,  screaming  and  crying,  ‘Lord,  take  me,’  ‘Jesus,  save  me,’  till, 
utterly  exhausted,  they  fall  asleep,  or  experience  something  which  they  call  ‘  coming 
through,’  when  they  jump  up  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy,  and  shouting  ‘Glory,  glory,  hallelu¬ 
jah,’  at  the  top  of  their  voices  till  they  are  hoarse,  run  all  over  the  house,  hugging  in¬ 
discriminately  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  white  or  black,  that  they  may  come  to,  and 
telling  them  with  the  most  extravagant  gesticulations  that  ‘  Jesus  died  for  me,’  ‘  Jesus 
is  a  precious  Saviour !  ’  Men  walk  all  round  the  house  on  their  knees,  praying  and 
slifouting  with  the  full  compass  of  their  voices,  clapping  their  hands  violently,  while  the 
responses — the  ‘Amens,’  ‘Do,  Lord,’  ‘Yes,  yes,’  ‘Just  now,  Lord,’  ‘Glory,  glory,’  etc. 
— in  endless  amount  and  variety,  come  up  ‘like  the  sound  of  many  waters,’  from  every 
part  of  the  house.  And  then  they  sing — as  only  they  can  sing — all  joining  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  swaying  their  bodies  to  the  time  of  the  music,  and  clapping  their  hands 
in  the  most  frantic  manner.” 

ANOTHER  LIKE  SCENE. 

“  They  jump,  and  stamp,  and  shout,  and  howl,  and  clap  their  hands.  Now  one  woman 
is  taken  with  the  ‘  power.’  She  springs  from  her  seat,  throws  back  her  head,  tosses  out 
her  arms,  and  commences  jumping  up  and  down,  rising  each  time  more  than  a  foot 
from  the  floor.  Another  woman  takes  hold  of  her  and  steadies  her  from  behind,  not 
seeking  to  stop  or  restrain  her ;  but  simply  to  prevent  her  from  hurting  herself,  or  fall¬ 
ing  upon  any  one  else.  Her  eyes  are  shut,  her  arms  flapping  wildly,  her  joints  loose ; 
now  she  throws  herself  forward,  and  is  hardly  kept  from  falling  over  the  benches  ;  now 
she  jerks  back  her  head,  much  to  the  inconvenience  of  her  supporter ;  suddenly  she 
drops,  and  is  picked  up  in  an  utter  state  of  exhaustion.  Meanwhile,  every  thing  else 
has  been  going  on  without  the  least  interruption.  One  man  was  taken  with  the  ‘  spirit.’ 
He  jumped,  and  kicked,  and  threw  himself  wildly  about ;  three  men  were  required  to 
help  him;  he  fell  among  the  women,  threw  himself  against  the  posts,  turned  over 
benches,  and  almost  knocked  down  those  who  were  supporting  him — acting  like  a 
maniac.  In  other  parts  of  the  room,  others  were  more  or  less  affected ;  some  merely 
jumped  up  and  down;  some  threw  themselves  on  the  floor,  and  some  acted  more  like 
howling  dervishes  than  worshipers  in  a  church ;  but  aU  without  effect  on  the  band  of 
‘mourners.’  Then  the  ‘preachers’  redouble  their  efforts;  they  stretch  their  whole 
bodies  over  the  railing ;  great  streams  of  sweat  roll  down  their  faces  ;  and  above  the 
groaning,  above  the  singing,  can  be  frequently  heard  a  warning  to  sinners  or  an  entreaty 
to  mourners.  In  a  minute,  up  jumps  a  woman  from  among  the  mourners  with  a  shout, 

‘  I’ve  shook  off  de  debil.  Go  ’way,  Satan !  ’  ‘  O  Jesus  !  ’  and  her  friends  drag  her  to  a 

seat,  and  rejoice  over  her.  Instantly  another  follows,  and  then  another,  until  in  a  few 
moments  six  or  eight  are  gathered,  as  having  ‘  j’ined  de  church.’  ” 


FAITH,  HOPE,  AND  LOVE. 

It  is  a  relief  to  turn  to  more  noble  traits  of  character.  With  all 
this  ignorance,  superstition  and  vice,  the  colored  people  possess  the 
elements  of  faith,  hope  and  love  in  an  eminent  degree,  and  these, 
when  properly  cultured,  will  develop  the  most  amiable  forms  of 
Christian  life. 

CONTENTMENT. 

“  Speaking  to  an  old  man  of  these  troublous  times,  he  said:  ‘  O,  dat’s  all  well.  When 
I  was  a  slave,  my  master  would  sometimes  whip  me  awful^  ’specially  when  he  knew  I 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


57 


was  prayinc;.  lie  was  dctcriiiiiicd  to  whip  the  Spirit  out  of  me,  hut  he  could  never  do 
it,  for  de  more  he  whip  the  more  the  Spirit  make  me  content  to  be  whipt ;  and  I’s  allcrs 
content.  When  I  come  here  I  have  had  times  sure — I  am  hungry,  work  hard,  and  no  pay, 
and  no  place  to  stay,  but  den  de  good  Spirit  makes  me  content  all  the  time.'" 

THE  BRIGHT  SIDE. 

“  There  is  Chloe  Carter.  She  lives  just  across  the  street.  She  has  been  the  mother  of 
seveiitcen  children.,  and  docs  not  know  where  any  of  them  are  except  those  who  died 
young.  They  sold  her  children,  and  now  in  her  old  age  she  found  her  way  to  this  city, 
and  here  will  probably  stay  till  called  to  enter  the  city  whose  gates  are  pearl.  She  is 
lx)or,  and  she  is  rich,  and  very  grateful  for  her  blessings.  Last  winter,  after  severe  cold 
weather,  it  moderated,  and  as  I  passed  her  cottage,  she  exclaimed,  ‘  Oh,  thank  the  Lord 
for  this  ivarm  sunshine;  it  so  helps  out  the  little  wood  we  has !  ’  ” 

TRUST  IN  THE  LORD. 

“  ‘Well,  what  do  you  want  to-day  ?’ 

“  ‘  I  want  to  see  if  there’s  gwine  to  be  a  school  in  our  precinct.  I’se  got  three  little 
ones  dat  I  wan  ter  hev  a  gwine  to  school.  I  never  specs  to  learn  nothin’  myself,  but  I 
wants  my  chilun  to  hev  an  edication.’ 

“  ‘  What  do  you  do  yourself  ?’ 

‘“I  crops  it.’ 

“  ‘  Do  you  make  a  good  living  V 

“  ‘  No,  boss  ;  I  makes  a  sorry  livin’.  But  I  never  frets.  I  knows  the  good  Lord  is  over 
all,  and  I  hev  always  lived,  and  I  believe  I  shall  now.  I  got  no  money,  but  I  has  corn 
and  hogs.  If  white  man  takes  them  from  me,  I  shall  get  more  ;  and  one  thing  is  sartin, 
nobody  gets  a  livin’  by  frettin’.’ 

“  ‘  Have  you  laid  up  no  money  for  a  rainy  day_^?’ 

“  ‘Haint  hed  the  chance,  boss.’ 

“  ‘  What  if  you  are  taken  sick.  Do  you  think  the  Bureau  will  take  care  of  you  ?’ 

“  ‘  Spec  not.  I  truss  de  Lord  for  dat.’  ” 

FAITH. 

“T  went  to  see  an  old  man  whom  I  found  a  helpless  cripple,  lying  on  a  miserable  pal¬ 
let  on  the  floor  of  a  wretchedly  dirty  room.  Stricken  with  poverty,  and  without  rela¬ 
tives,  his  case  seemed  truly  pitiable.  I  suggested  that  he  would  be  more  comfortable 
at  the  hospital,  but  for  some  reason  the  idea  was  very  distasteful  to  him,  and  he  said : 
‘Why,  missus,  I’se  waitin’  on  de  Lord,  and  ain’t  Jesus  eberywhere?’  ‘But,’,  I  said, 
‘  your  bones  must  ache,  lying  on  this  hard  bed.’  ‘  Why,  my  dear  missus,  dere’s  many  a 
one  worse  off  dan  1.  I airCt  no  way  wearied.  De  Lord  know  just  what  I  need.’ 

“  He  told  me  of  the  sorrow  of  his  life ;  through  the  wickedness  of  cruel  men,  he  was 
deprived  of  the  freedom  left  him  by  his  dying  master,  torn  from  his  wife  and  children  at 
Charleston,  and  sold  in  this  city.  ‘  But,’  he  said,  ‘  when  I  landed  I  asked  de  Lord  to  go 
before  me,  and  told  him  I  was  willin’  to  leave  de  helm  in  his  hand ;  and  now  I’se  been 
waitin’  on  him  dese  twenty- five  years.  He  knows  jest  what  I  need,  and  when  he  sees 
I’se  had  trouble  ’nutF,  he’ll  say,  ‘  ‘  Come  up  higher.’  ’  ’  ‘  How  do  you  manage  to  pay  your 
rent  ?  ’  I  asked.  ‘  Well,’  said  he,  ‘  when  de  month’s  ’most  out,  sometimes  I  say,  “  Lord, 
what  shall  I  do  ?  I’se  got  no  money but  when  Master  Jesus  sa^js  he’U  mind  you,  he 
will  mind  you,  an’  he  sends  one  friend  an’  anoder,  an’  I  make  out.  I’se  satisfled.’ 

“  Blessed  trust !  Happy  poor  yet  rich  man,  thought  I.” 

“  waitin’  and  prayin’.” 

“  The  j)eople  are  patiently  waiting  for  something  to  be  done  for  them.  ‘  Waitin’  and 
prayin’,’  as  a  poor  toilwom  mother  of  a  large  family  said  to  me  yesterday.  ‘  Don’t  you 
fret  about  us,  honey,’  she  said,  comfortingly,  ‘  when  God  brought  us  out  of  slavery,  he 
kuow’d  we’d  need  education,  and  he  wiU  give  it  to  us.’  Beautiful  trust !” 


58 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


SPECIFIC  FAITH. 

“  I  think  if  our  agents  would  exercise  faith  in  every  place  they  go,  as  strong  as  an  old 
auntie  that  came  to  me  last  February,  we  should  not  want  for  any  good  thing.  She 
came  in  one  morning  and  said  she  had  come  out  to  see  if  I  could  give  her  a  dress  and  a 
pair  of  shoes.  She  was  very  old,  trembled  as  she  walked,  leaning  on  her  walking-stick. 
I  found  a  dress  and  told  her  I  could  not  find  the  shoes.  She  looked  up — and  such  a  look; 
I  never  shall  forget  it — and  replied,  ‘  Honey ^  I  did  think  my  Jesus  would  give  me  the 
shoes  to-day.’  I  repeated  I  could  not  find  any  for  her,  yet  she  repeated  her  faith  that  her 
Jesus  would  give  her  a  pair.  I  had  one  box,  not  opened ;  I  took  my  hammer  and  opened 
it,  to  see  if  I  could  find  any  in  it.  After  taking  out  nearly  half  the  contents  of  the  box, 
I  was  about  ready  to  give  up.  I  looked  at  the  auntie,  she  seemed  to  be  looking  by 
faith  to  J esus.  I  went  to  work  again,  and  down  in  the  bottom  I  found  shoes  just  right, 
and  when  I  told  her  there  was  a  pair  I  thought  would  fit  her,  she  gave  a  shoict  such  as  I 
never  before  heard.  Her  joy  was  such  I  could  not  help  shedding  tears  of  joy  with  her.” 

THE  FORGIVING  SPIRIT. 

“  Children  come  to  school  barefooted  over  the  frozen  ground,  and  we  sometimes  find 
the  tears  running  down  their  cheeks,  caused  by  actual  hunger,  and  the  sufferings  of  the 
sick  and  the  aged  are  untold ;  yet  even  in  the  greatest  extremity  they  are  never  found 
looking  back  wistfully  to  the  fiesh-pots  of  Egypt. 

“  From  none  of  them  do  we  hear  a  murmur  or  a  complaint,  and  from  some  we  hear 
such  words  as  these:  ‘  When  the  Lord  shuts  one  door,  he  opens  another.’  ‘  They  that 
put  their  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  never  be  confounded.’  It  might  be  expected  that  their 
privations  and  sufferings  would  engender  a  feeling  of  bitterness  toward  their  former 
masters,  but  it  is  not  so  ;  we  are  often  deeply  affected  by  their  fervent  prayers  for  their 
old  masters,  prayers  breathing  a  spirit  of  forgiveness,  ‘till  seventy  times  seven.’  In¬ 
stead  of  dwelling  upon  their  troubles,  they  seem  inclined  to  magnify  their  blessings, 
and  make  the  most  of  them.” 

THE  DOVE  IN  THE  HEART. 

“  Concerning  ‘  hollering  ’  in  meeting.  Aunt  Judy,  an  old  colored  woman,  said  to  one 
of  her  sisters:  ‘’Tan’t  de  true  grace,  honey;  ’tan’t  de  sure  glory.  You  hollers  too 
loud.  When  you  gits  de  dove  in  your  heart  and  the  lamb  in  your  bosom,  you’ll  feel  as 
ef  you  was  in  that  stable  in  Bethl’em,  and  de  blessed  Virgin  had  lent  you  de  sleepin’ 
baby  to  hold.’  ” 


DESIRE  TO  LEARN. 

The  great  hope  for  the  colored  people  is  in  their  earnest  desire  for 
knowledge,  secular  and  sacred.  Out  of  the  mass  of  anecdotes  before 
us,  illustrating  this  point,  we  select  the  following : 

A  Freedman’s  first  act. 

“  On  the  return  march  of  Mix’s  3d  New- York  Cavalry,  a  large  number  of  male  con¬ 
trabands  followed  the  regiment.  Lieutenant  Chamberlain,  of  Rochester,  adopted  one 
of  them,  a  fine-looking  boy  of  about  20  years,  as  his  servant.  On  reaching  Washington, 
he  gave  him  money  to  purchase  an  extra  supper  out  of  camp.  The  negro  went  without 
the  supper,  and  invested  the  money  in  a  spelling-book.  He  has  studied  it  intently  every 
leisure  hour,  and  although  perfectly  ignorant  of  the  alphabet  one  week  ago,  he  is  now 
master  of  his  letters.” 


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59 


A  SCENE  IN  lilCIIMOND  IN  1865. 

“For  the  lirst  two  Avccks  there  were  only  eight  teaehers  for  one  thousand  five  hun¬ 
dred  pupils,  all  of  whom  were  eager  to  get  a  book  and  go  right  to  work  and  learn  to 
read,  and  often  our  hearts  were  made  sad  by  having  the  children  say  :  ‘  I  han’t  said  no 
lesson  to-day  ;  please.  Miss,  just  show  me  how  that  goes.’ 

“  One  old  uncle  came  into  school  a  few  days  ago,  and  as  he  was  going,  said  :  ‘  0  Miss  ! 
we*s  monstrous  pleased  with  your  carryings  on  here  in  this  church,  we’s  all  so  mighty 
glad  you’s  come  to  teach  we  all.  We  hope  the  Yankees  will  allers  live  in  Richmond. 
I’s  felt  so  happy  since  the  Yankees  came,  that  I“want  to  sing  and  cry  for  joy  all  thae 
time  ;  ’pears  like  I  dun  know  as  I’s  hungry  or  no.’  ” 

AFTER  THE  SCHOOL-HOUSE  WAS  BURNED  IN  NORFOLK. 

“  The  day  after  our  school-house  was  burned,  little  Robert  said  :  ‘  Well,  Miss  Duncan, 
if  they  did  burn  our  school-house,  they  can’t  burn  what  we’ve  got  in  our  heads,  can 
thay  V’  ” 

“I’SE  COME  FOR  MY  WHIPPIN’.” 

“  It  is  really  wonderful  how  quickly  these  untutored  children  will  wheel  into  line  and 
af)proach  the  high  standard  in  our  Northern  schools.  There  is,  moreover,  a  genuine 
love  for  school.  Repeatedly  the  vote  has  been  unanimous  to  dispense  with  holidays  for 
the  sake  of  attending.  In  fact,  they  will  endure  almost  any  penance  sooner  than  be 
deprived  of  this  privilege.  In  one  of  our  schools,  two  of  the  larger  pupils,  a  girl  and 
boy,  for  a  very  grave  offense,  were  ordered  to  leave  the  school  or  receive  a  whipping. 
They  might  take  their  choice.  The  boy  instantly  came  forward  and  was  whipped.  The 
girl  gathered  up  her  books,  left  the  room,  and  the  teacher  supposed,  of  course,  that  was 
the  end  of  it.  She  was  much  surprised  the  next  morning  to  see  this  girl  enter,  and 
wMking  straight  up  to  the  teacher,  say;  ‘Missus,  I’se  come  for  my  whippin’.’  Such 
WEBher  love  for  the  school,  that  after  a  night’s  reflection,  she  had  rather  be  whipped,  old 
as  she^was,  than  stay  away.  The  children  seem  quite  ambitious  to  improve.  Frequently 
they  carry  their  books  home.  In  passing  through  the  camps  I  have  often  been  assailed 
by  little  urchins  holding  out  their  slates,  ‘  Please,  sir,  set  me  a  copy,’  and  it  is  no  un¬ 
common  thing  for  children,  ‘  just  let  loose  from  school,’  to  gather  in  groups  and  go 
through  with  a  spelling  exercise  in  fine  style,  and  close  off  with — ‘  Hail  Columbia.’  ” 

OLD  AND  YOUNG  IN  SCHOOL. 

“Here,’’  writes  one  of  our  missionaries,  “is  seated  a  middle-aged  man,  intently 
studying  the  first  principles  of  arithmetic ;  yonder  is  his  wife,  as  diligently  poring  over 
her  primer.  Here,  a  mother  just  commencing  to  read ;  there,  her  son  of  sixteen,  try¬ 
ing  to  conquer  the  multiplication-table.  In  this  class  is  a  man  just  learning  his  letters  ; 
by  his  side  are  children  five  years  old  at  the  same  lesson  ;  and  so  on. 

“  Some  who  had  families  could  attend  school  but  three  or  four  days  in  the  week,  the 
rest  of  their  time  being  spent  in  ‘  earning  something  to  eat.’  Many  refused  to  go  out 
to  work  for  high  w:iges,  preferring  to  work  for  their  board  and  go  to  school  while  there 
was  opportunity.  I  have  often  been  asked  if  colored  children  learned  as  rapidly  as  the 
wliites.  Taking  all  their  circumstances  into  consideration,  I  never  saw  any  school  that, 
as  a  vihole,  advanced  more  rapidly. 

“One  old  woman  said  she  was  willing  to  work  as  long  as  she  could  stand,  if  by  so  doing 
she  would  be  able  to  read  the  Bible ;  when,  about  three  months  afterward,  she  was  able 
not  only  to  read  her  Bible,  but  write  a  little,  her  cup  of  happiness  was  full ;  she  thought 
she  could  never  thank  the  Lord  enough  that  he  had  placed  her  where  she  ‘  could  learn 
beautifully.’  ” 

LOVE  FOR  THE  SCHOOL. 

“  These  children,  though,  for  aught  I  can  see,  they  possess  as  much  ‘  human 


60 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


nature  ’  as  fairer  school  children  at  the  North,  have  an  appreciation  of  school  privi¬ 
leges  rarely  found  at  home.  ‘  Please  for  don’t  give  us  long  holiday,’  said  one  and 
another  on  Friday.  ‘We  want  a  few  days,  but  not  long.  We  like  to  read.’  Parents 
testify  to  their  eagerness  for  school ;  ‘  They  needs  no  driving ;  they  is  always  talkin’ 
about  their  teachers.’  ‘  I’can’t  keep  my  Margaret  from  her  book,’  says  one  mother,  with 
hardly  concealed  delight.” 

BEGGING  HARDEE  FOR  SCHOOLS  THAN  BREAD. 

“  To-day  we  need  a  thousand  added  to  our  corps  of  teachers.  Applieations  came  in 
from  every  quarter  for  books  and  teachers.  All  around  us  the  Freedmen  are  struggling 
hard  against  poverty,  some  against  actual  starvation,  yet  they  beg  harder  for  a  school 
than  for  food  oi\  do  thing.” 

WELCOME  TO  A  RETURNING  TEACHER. 

“  I  had  anticipated  a  most  cordial  welcome,  but^was  not  prepared  for  the  demonstra¬ 
tions  of  joy  which  I  witnessed.  The  people  were  expecting  us,  because  they  had  been 
praying  for  our  return.  The  first  expression  from  almost  every  one  was  thanksgiving 
to  God  for  answering  their  prayers.  Old  Aunt  Rhina,  whose  head  is  frosted  by  age,  and 
her  feet  so  swollen  that  you  would  not  think  she  could  walk  on  them,  came  almost 
running  from  her  cabin.  I  went  to  meet  her.  Her  first  words  were :  ‘  O  !  bress  de 
Lord,  you’s  come.  My  eyes  is  so  proud  to  see  you  once  more.  I’se  prayed  for  you 
cbery  day.’  Others  exclaimed,  ‘Bressed  Jesus,  you  heard  my  prayer,  and  I  have  saw 
my  teachers  once  more.’  One  old  man  said,  ‘  I  seen  you,  I  seen  you.  I  know’d  yon 
was  coming.  De  Lord  showed  you  to  me  all  ready  to  come.  ’ 

“  They  brought  gifts  of  such  things  as  they  had.  Rice,  sweet  potatoes,  ground-nuts 
and  eggs.  Strong  men  were  so  overcome  by  their  joy  as  to  tremble  like  a  leaf.” 

A  minister’s  class  in  ELEMENTARY  THEOLOGY. 

Miss  Sherman  gives  a  graphic  sketch  of  a  class  of  ministers  which 
she  and  another  lady  taught  in  what  must  be  regarded  as  elementary 
theology  : 

“But  now  picture,  if  you  can,  o,  minister' s  spelling  class!  Imagine  my  feelings  as  I 

called  upon  the  Rev.  Mr.  -  to  spell  w-o-r-l-d,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  — -  to  spell 

b-e-a-s-t-s  ;  a  difficult  word,  by  the  way,  both  to  spell  and  pronounce,  and  over  which 
every  one  tripped  and  fell !  I  took  occasion  to  enliven  the  spelling  with  various  little 
dissertations  on  the  nature  and  peculiarities  of  the  English  language,  the  derivation  of 
words,  etc.,  with  which  they  seemed  highly  delighted.  When  every  one  had  read  and 

spelt,  it  was  proposed  by  the  Rev.  Mr. - -  that  they  should  read  the  first  chapter  of 

Revelation,  and  I  readily  consented,  advising  that  one  should  read  in  a  distinct,  audible 
voice,  stopping  at  the  end  of  each  verse  for  the  rest  to  criticise.  My  advice  was  followed, 
and  proved  very  acceptable  in  its  results.  The  pastor  of  the  church  ascended  the  steps 
of  the  pulpit,  opened  the  ponderous  Bible,  put  on  his  ‘  specs,’  and  proceeded  slowly, 
but  firmly  to  read,  pausing,  according  to  agreement,  for  the  criticisms  of  his  brethren, 
and — alas  for  the  dignity  of  man — of  his  sister,  too.  Yes,  there  was  no  way  to  escape 
the  responsibility,  for  once  it  was  clearly  my  duty  to  correct  the  preacher,  stand¬ 
ing,  too,  in  his  own  pulpit.  There  was  no  hesitation  on  the  part  of  his  brethren  !  crit¬ 
icism  showered  down  freely,  and  I  was  appealed  to  as  umpire.  ‘  You  said  “  sanctified” 
instead  of  “  signified,”  cried  one,  alluding  to  the  first  verse ;  ‘  you  said  “  the  things,”  in¬ 
stead  of  “those  things,”  cried  another,  referring  to  the  third.  The  worthy  pastor 
stood  rebuked,  and  submitted  himself  with  a  lowliness  well  worthy  of  imitation.  We 
wound  up  our  exercises  by  repeating,  simultaneously,  all  the  hard  words  in  the  chapter. 
Alpha,  Omega,  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  Thyatira,  etc. 


AMEKICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


61 


“  This  recitation  was  particularly  acceptable  to  all  the  students,  for  one  of  the 
primer  licentiates  had  previously  whispered  to  3Iiss  B.,  ‘  Miss,  won’t  you  please  give 
me  a  Bible  lesson,  for  they  call  on  me  to  preach  sometimes,  and  Vm  myjhUj  tight  up 
on  the  ii'onh  /’ 

“  All  the  theological  students  seemed  satisfied  with  their  teachers,  and  passed  a  vote 
of  thanks,  with  a  request  that  they  would  continue  their  services.” 

A  STRUGGLING  SCHOLAR. 

“  One  of  our  students  teaching  in  the  country,  returns  to  Atlanta  at  night,  and  rooms 
in  our  building.  He  rises  early,  looks  over  the  lessons  he  is  to  teach,  stirs  up  some  meal 
and  water,  fries  it  on  a  griddle,  makes  a  breakfast  of  his  hoe-cake  and  molasses,  puts  a 
little  into  his  tin  bucket  for  dinner,  then  starts  on  his  walk  of  six  miles  to  his  school. 
About  six  o’clock  he  returns,  eats  molasses  and  hoe-cake  for  supper,  then  goes  into 
night-school,  and  teaches  till  ten.  Saturdays,  after  doing  his  week’s  washing,  he  goes 
down  town  to  find  little  jobs  by  which  he  can  make  a  few  pennies.  Nearly  half  of  the 
summer  he  guarded  at  night  the  unfinished  new  building,  in  addition  to  all  his  other 
labors,  except  night-school. 

“  He  is  such  a  faithful  student  and  walking  dictionary,  that  he  had  not  been  in  school 
half  a  term  before  every  student  called  him  ‘  Professor.’  He,  and  nearly  all  in  the  class 
he  entered,  learned  their  letters  ‘  sinee  freedom,’  and  next  term  commence  Greek  and 
geometry ;  but  he,  aside  from  a  little  night  instruction,  has  been  his  own  teacher  till  he 
came  here  last  year. 

“  In  one  of  our  prayer-meetings,  he  said,  when  he  was  first  free  he  thought  he  would 
ti’y  to  be  rich,  then  he  thought  he  would  get  an  education,  so  he  got  a  blue-back  speller 
and  went  to  studying.  Soon  he  resolved  to  be  a  Christian,  and  spend  his  life  in  elevat¬ 
ing  his  race. 

“One  Saturday  evening  I  asked  him  if  he  was  going  to  have  a  fire.  He  said  ne 
thought  he  would  build  one  about  midnight.  ‘  About  midnight !’  said  I.  ‘  What  for  ?’ 

‘  Well,’  he  said,  ‘  I  want  to  boil  some  greens  that  Mr. - said  I  could  get  from  the 

garden.  I  am  afraid  they  will  not  keep  all  through  to-morrow  if  I  boil  them  early,  and 
I  would  not  Wee  to  cook  on  Sunday^  you  know.’ 

“  On  being  urged  to  pay  twenty-five  cents  to  ride  to  his  school,  lest  he  might  get  sick 
with  so  much  overwork  and  poor  living,  he  said,  ‘  O  no  !  I  must  save  every  penny,  for  I 
want  my  sister  here  too.’  ” 

EARNEST  EFFORTS  FOR  EDUCATION. 

“  To-day,  in  our  school  are  children  with  naked  feet — to-day,  in  midwinter,  with  a 
chilly  north-east  wind,  accompanied  with  rain  and  sleet,  they  have  come,  some  of  them 
five  miles,  over  eotton-fields  and  through  jungles,  to  drink  at  this  fountain. 

“  Wiiliam,  Mansfield,  and  Burr  tramp  eight  miles  each  day  to  and  from  school.  They 
are  children  of  a  widowed  mother,  whom  they  support.  They  belonged  to  a  hard  mas¬ 
ter,  and,  since  the  surrender,  have  twice  seen  a  victim  die  at  the  hands  of  violenee,  on 
the  plantation,  four  mUes  from  us.” 

WRONGED,  BUT  COURAGEOUS  AND  SUCCESSFUL. 

“  William,  the  oldest,  is  twenty-three  or  four  years  old.  The  year  after  the  sur¬ 
render,  his  old  master  hired  him,  agreeing  to  pay  $12  per  month,  allowing  Saturday  af¬ 
ternoon.  With  his  indomitable  energy  he  kept  the  family  from  want,  without  drawing 
upon  his  wages  tiU  the  year  closed.  At  Christmas,  he  went  to  settle.  First,  his  master 
deducted  from  his  time  forty-two  half  days  for  Saturday  afternoons  ;  next,  he  deducted 
fifty-two  Sabbaths,  and  last,  he  took  three  hours  from  each  day  for  the  time  of  eating 
his  meals,  saying  with  an  oath  that  when  he  was  eating  he  was  not  working,  and  would 
not  pay  him,  thus  redueing  his  wages  from  $144  to  $72.  He  paid  him  $32,  and  gave  a 
due  bill  of  $40.  This  he  afterwards  tore  to  atoms  when  it  was  presented,  and  said  it 


62 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


was  $4,  and  he  might  have  an  old  plow.  There  was  no  help,  so  he  shouldered  his  plow, 
and  left  the  place. 

“Before  Spring,  he  earned  money,  purchased  a  mule,  rented  land,  and  put  his  plow  at 
work. 

“  All  this  time,  he  took  lessons  privately  of  a  white  man,  paying  him  one  dollar  x>er 
month.  He  mastered  the  alphabet,  spelling-book,  and  first  and  second  readers,  and  has 
been  a  member  of  our  school  more  than  a  year.  He  is  now  ginning  his  cotton,  and 
hurrying  to  begin  his  second  year  at  this  Institution.  Night  and  day  he  works  to  sup¬ 
port  his  widowed  mother,  clothe  the  younger  children,  and  send  them  to  school,  and  not 
let  himself  fall  behind  his  class. 

“  On  Sabbath  mornings  he  goes  from  house  to  house,  gathering  children  from  their 
marbles  in  the  back-yards,  and  bringing  them  to  the  Sabbath-school. 

A  PERSEVERING  SCHOLAR. 

“We  have  a  night- class  of  promising  men.  One  scholar  deserves  mention.  He  is 
forty  years  old,  and  veiy  dull ;  but  his  gift  of  perseverance  excels  any  thing  I  ever 
heard  of.  He  lives  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  station,  and  works  very  hard  every 
day  on  his  farm ;  yet,  for  five  years  he  has  scarcely  failed  once  of  being  present  at  night- 
school.  Punctually  as  the  hour  arrives,  in  walks  John  with  book  and  slate.  Such  pa¬ 
tient  continuance  in  well-doing  deserves  better  reward  than  he  has  received.” 

LEARN  TO  SPELL  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS  FIRST. 

“  One  old  colored  woman,  nearly  eighty  years  of  age,  and  who  is  afflicted  with  the 
rheumatism,  works  for  her  board,  and  goes  to  school.  She  had  to  commence  with  the 
alphabet,  but  so  great  was  her  application  and  eagerness  to  learn,  that  she  had  learned 
all  the  letters  in  a  week’s  time.  As  soon  as  she  had  conquered  them,  she  said,  ‘  Now,  I 
want  to^^learn  to  spell  Jesus,  for  ’pears  like  the  rest  will  come  easier  if  I  learn  to  spell 
that  blessed  name  first.’  ” 


PRAYERS  AND  SPEECHES. 

A  PRAYER  AT  A  FUNERAL. 

“Massa  Jesus,  like  de  people,  ob  de  ole  time,  de  Jews,  we  weep  by  de  side  ob  de 
liber,  wid  de  strings  ob  de  harp  all  broken.  But  we  sing  ob  de  broken  heart,  as  dem 
people  could  not  do. 

“  Hear  us.  King,  in  de  present  state  ob  our  sorrows.  You  know.  King  Jesus,  honey, 
we  just  got  from  de  Red  Sea,  and  wander  in  de  dark  wilderness,  a  poor,  feeble  portion 
ob  de  children  ob  Adam,  feeble  in  body,  feeble  in  mind,  and  need  de  help  ob  de  good 
Mighty  God.  Oh  !  help  us,  if  you  please,  to  homes ;  for  we’s  got  no  homes,  Massa 
Jesus,  but  de  shelter  ob  de  oak-tree  in  de  day-time,  and  de  shelter  ob  de  cotton  tent  at 
night.  Help  us  for  our  own  good,  and  de  good  ob  God’s  blessed  Union  people,  dat  want 
all  people  free,  whatsomebber  be  de  color. 

“Massa  Jesus,  you  know  de  deep  tribulation  ob  our  hearts,  dat  sickness  is  among 
us,  dat  our  children  dying  in  de  camp,  and  as  we  tote  dem  from  one  place  to  tudder,  and 
bury  dem  in  de  cold  ground,  Jesus,  to  go  in  spirit  to  de  God  ob  de  people,  where  de  soul 
hab  no  spot  nor  color.” 


A  PRAYER  FOR  THE  TEACHER. 

“  0  Lord,  bless  de  teacher  who  come  so  far  to  ’struct  us  in  de  way  to  heaven.  Rock 
hw  in  de  cradle  ob  love  !  Backen  de  word  of  power  in  her  heart,  dat  she  may  have  souls 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


63 


for  her  hire,  and  man}'  stars  in  her  crown  in  do  great  gittin’-up  morning,  when  de  gen¬ 
eral  roll  is  called.  And  when  all  de  battles  is  over,  may  she  fall  all  kivered  with  victory, 
be  buried  wid  de  honors  of  war,  and  rise  to  wear  de  long  white  robe  in  glory,  and  walk 
de  shining  streets  in  silver  slippers,  down  by  de  golden  sunrise,  close  to  do  great  white 
tlirone ;  and  derc  may  she  strike  glad  hands  wid  all  her  dear  scholars,  and  praise  you,  O 
Lcu'd,  forever  and  forever,  for  Jesus’  sake.  Amen.” 

A  Freedman’s  prayer  for  the  teachers. 

“  Bless  these  ladies  who  have  left  their  homes  in  foreign  lands,  and  come  a  far  ways 
to  teach  our  poor  ignorant  little  children.  Bless  those  who  would  hurt  and  destroy 
tliem,  and  run  them  off  to  where  they  came  from.  Bless  those  who  hate  them,  and 
would  like  to  drive  them  away ;  bring  their  works  to  nothing.  Oh !  bless  The  teachers, 
and  make  them  stand  as  good,  strong  soldiers ;  don’t  let  them  be  afraid,  but  let  them 
stay  as  long  as  they  can  to  teach  our  little  children  of  thy  will.  Oh  !  father,  bless  the 
children,  and  help  them  to  learn  fast,  that  when  they  go  home  to  their  own  habitations, 
they  may  teach  the  old  father  and  mother,  who  are  busy,  and  can’t  come  to  school.” 

AN  EXHORTATION  AT  A  CHILDREN’S  MEETING““A  BEAUTIFUL  ILLUS¬ 
TRATION. 

“  A  few  Sabbaths  since,  all  the  Sunday-schools  gathered  in  one  church  to  hear  a  chil¬ 
dren’s  sermon.  The  children  occupied  the  centre  of  the  church,  and  every  other  part 
o£  the  house  was  packed.  The  children  sang  with  enthusiasm  the  songs  they  had  learned 
at  school,  while  the  faces  of  the  proud  and  gratified  parents  glowed  with  unutterable 
delight.  After  the  preacher  had  concluded,  an  exhorter  arose. 

“He  was  evidently  inspired  by  the  scene,  and  quoted  the  passage,  ‘The  winter  has 
I)assed,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone.  The  flowers  appear  on  the  earth ;  the  time  of  the 
singing  of  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  is  heard  in  our  land.’  He  referred 
to  the  long,  fearful  winter  of  slavery,  and  then  said,  ‘’Pears  like  now  the  spring  has 
ccane,  and  we  hear  the  singing  of  the  birds,  for  it  seems  to  me,  when  I  listen  to  the  ehil- 
dren  singing  these  beautiful  songs,  that  they  are  the  singing  birds,  that  the  winter  is 
gone,  and  the  sweet  and  beautiful  spring  has  come.’ 

“  Yes,  spring  has  come  to  this  people,  but  it  is  full  of  clouds  and  storms.  God  grant 
that  their  summer  may  not  be  far  away.” 

EXTRACT  FROM  UNCLE  JERRY’s  SERMON. 

“A  leetle  while  ago,”  said  he,  “  we  was  all  down  in  Mississip’  or  ole  ’Ginny,  or  some- 
whar  else,  wid  our  heads  bowed  down  a  groanin’  under  de  yoke  ob  bondage,  but  deLor’ 
he  hear  our  groans  ober  de  cook-pot  and  in  de  cotton-patch  ;  he  hear  our  prayers  down 
in  de  corn-fleld,  and  ’long-side  de  gum-tree.  Den  he  sen’  de  sogers  from  de  North,  de 
chains  fall  off,  and  he  say,  Go,  poor  slaves  ;  and  now  we  is  here  on  liberty’s  ground,  a 
worshipin’  God,  under  our  own  vine  and  flg-tree.  And  de  good  Lord,  he  hab  sent  us 
dese  good  ladies — dey  couldn’t  shoder  der  arms,  but  de  Lord  hab  put  it  into  dere  hearts 
to  come  and  teach  us  poor  African  race.  Now,  my  brederin’,  I  feels  it  my  dispensible 
duty  to  do  something  for  dis  yere  onspeakable  kindness.  I  feels  it  my  dispensible  pri¬ 
vilege,  an’  I  know  dat  you  all  feels  it  your  dispensible  duty.” 

AN  EFFECTIVE  SPEECH. 

It  may  be  necessary  to  explain  that  in  some  places,  where  the  As¬ 
sociation  can  not  support  schools  wholly,  it  asks  and  receives  pledges 
from  the  people  for  a  part  of  the  salary  of  the  teachers.  These  pro¬ 
mises,  easily  made,  are  sometimes  easily  forgotten.  This  speech  was 


64 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


at  a  meeting,  called  to  make  up  a  deficiency.  The  money  was  nearly 
all  raised  on  the  spot. 

“My  friends — This  yere  is  a  turrible  thing  that  has  fetched  us  together— tnrrihle. 
We’se  got  ourselves  to  blame,  and  nary  one  besides.  We’se  a  forgetful  people— very  for¬ 
getful.  We  don’t  count  the  cost;  we  don’t  stop  at  making  promises,  but  we  stops  at 
tilling  them.  Two  months  ago  we  sent  for  dese  yere  ladies  to  come  here  an’  teach  our 
chilun,  and  we  promised  to  pay  all  dese  ’spenses.  But  now  dese  yere,  and  the  chilun 
aint  in  de  schoo’  and  the  money  aint  in  the  treasure.  We  promises  and  we  forgets.  We 
promises  and  we  don’t  count  the  cost.  We  has  a  heap  of  ’spenses  to  bear,  but  we  pro¬ 
mises  a  dollar  yere  and  a  dollar  yonder,  and  time  comes  round,  and  we  haven’t  nary  a 
dollar  to  pay  nnther  one.  We  don’t  seem  to  set  down  and  count  the  cost  like  white 
folks.  We  has  to  pay  taxes  and  house-rent  (and  if  the  house-rent  isn’t  paid,  you  goes 
outdoors.  White  folks  owns  the  houses,  and  dey  don’  care  to  have  free  niggers  stay  in 
tlieir  houses  unless  dey  pays  the  las’  dollar),  and  we  has  to  pay  the  minister,  and  we  has 
to  look  after  our  domestics,  and  pay  out  money  a  heap  faster  than  it  seems  to  be  paid 
in.  We  falls  sick  and  the  doctor’s  to  be  paid,  and  a  big  price  at  that — and  tell  you  what 
it  is,  my  friends,  we  don’t  count  the  cost. 

“  Now,  dese  ladies  is  yere,  and  we  must  keep  um  if  we  have  to  sell  the  coats  off  our 
backs  to  keep  nm.  We  needs  um.  Our  chilun  needs  um.  We  wouldn’t  have  nm  leave 
now,  and  have  the  word  go  out  to  the  country  that  Thomasville  couldn’t  s’ port  the 
teachers,  and  they  had  to  go  away  to  another  place,  or  off  home  again,  for  the  best  plan¬ 
tation  in  the  county.  What  would  the  white  folks  say  ?  When  would  we  get  any  more 
teachers  from  the  S’ciety  in  New-York?  How  the  Democrats  would  blow  about  the 

niggers’  thick  heads,  and  their  want  of  gratitude  and  pride,  and  all  that.  Col.  M. - 

would  be  sajung  to  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr.  Sumener,  ‘  The  niggers  don’t  want  any  of  you 
all  down  yonder.  They  doesn’t  want  your  teachers,  nor  your  schools,  nor  your  i-deas, 
nor  your  radical  politics,  nor  your  big  freedom.’  And  my  friends,  if  we  should  let  these 
ladies  go,  and  it  was  a  slmah  fac’,  I  reckon  General  Wilson  and  General  Sumener 
wouldn’t  have  naiy  a  word  to  say.’  ” 

UNCLE  jack’s  answer. 

“  Another  politician  conversed  with  Uncle  Jack  in  the  following  manner ;  ‘  Don’t  you 
think.  Uncle,  that  you  ought  to  vote  with  the  people  and  country  that  show  you  most 
favors?’  ‘Yes,  massa.’  ‘Don’t  you  see  that  the  Yankees  have  greatly  deceived  you, 
and  promised  what  they  do  not  give  ?’  ‘  Yes,  massa,  they  have  deceived  us  powerfully. 

They  promised  to  make  ns  free,  and  I  did  not  think  they  would,  but  they  ’ceived  us, 
and  they  did.  Wese  all  free  now.’  ” 


ORIGINAL  CHARACTERS. 

“FATHER  PARKER.” 

“  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  have  called  on  *  Father  Parker,’  at  his  ‘  country 
seat  ’  (as  he  is  pleased  to  call  it) — a  low  cabin  on  the  Taylor  farm,  ten  miles  from  the 
city — and  secured  his  narrative  of  the  taking  of  Norfolk,  and  of  his  visit  to  Washington. 

“Mr.  Parker  is  now  sixty-four  years  of  age;  has  been  a  preacher  in  this  city  more 
than  forty  years,  and  was  a  slave  up  to  the  ‘proclamation  time.’  For  eleven  years  he 
hired  his  time,  paying  his  master  $120  per  year.  So  he  says  : — ‘  I  have  paid  $1300  for  the 
use  of  my  poor  old  body ;  but  I  knew  all  the  time — something  in  my  heart  kept  telling 
me — that  God  would  not  allow  me  to  die  until  I  had  breathed  free  air  ;  and  when  the  time 
really  did  come,  why,  I  felt  just  as  when  some  man  comes  and  'pays  me  a  debt.  I  was 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


65 


happy  and  thankful,  to  be  sure,  to  receive  iny  freedom  ;  my  neii^hbors  thought  I  wasn’t 
because  I  didn’tshout  ‘‘  Glory !”  and  “  Hallelujah  !”  with  them  ;  but, bless  you,  I  was  ex- 
I)cctin’  of  it  these  forty  years.  I’d  just  dreamed  of  it  all  this  sad,  long  time,  and  I  was 
certain  it  Avas  to  come,  and  that  I  should  sec  it.  ^  So  it  wasn’t  at  all  surprising  to  me.’  ” 


NINE  o’clock  law  FOREVER  REPEALED. 

“Under  the  old  slave  laws  colored  people  Avere  required  to  be  in-doors  for  the  night 
at  nine  o’clock,  under  the  penalty  of  immediate  arrest  by  any  one,  and  in  the  morning 
‘  ten  licks  and  a  llfty  cents  fine.’  But  on  that  memorable  18th  of  May,  1863,  when 
tlic  Union  army  under  General  Wool  took  command  of  the  city,  this  regulation  was  for- 
CA'er  repealed.  ‘  On  that  night,’  Father  Parker  says,  ‘  the  city  was  like  the  year  of  jubi¬ 
lee  !  Every  colored  man  and  Avoman  and  pickaninny  knocked  off  their  work  and  took 
to  Avalking  the  streets ;  and  such  a  sight !  The  women  threw  up  their  hands  shouting, 
“  O  Lord  !  Too  good  to  be  true!  Bless  the  Lord  !  No  more  hand-cuffin’  the  children 
now!  God  bless  Abraham  Lincoln  !”  And  this  was  kept  up  all  night.  Some  of  the 
police-guard  hailed  us — “  Boys,  don’t  you  know  it’s  after  nine  o’clock  ?  Better  get  in.” 
“  Don’t  know  any  nine  o’clock  we  said,  and  just  then  we  met  a  Union  officer  who 

told  the  police-guard — “  I’ll  take  care  of  this  business.  Ikehave  charge  here  woie,”  and, 
turning  to  us,  he  added :  “Boys,  AA'alk  all  night  if  you  want  to  and  we  did  do  it.  First 
time  in  all  our  lives  Ave  could  do  that  thing.  Ah !  then  I  took  a  long  breath  ;  this  free¬ 
dom — freedom — come  at  last.’ 

“  Soon  as  things  got  settled  a  little,  the  Generalfissued  an  order  for  the  colored  people 
to  observe  a  day  of  prayer  and  public  thanksgiving  to  God  for  what  had  been  done. 
This  they  did  gladly,  and  at  sunrise  on  the  appointed  day  comipenced  service  in  their 
churches  Avith  a  full  congregation.” 


THE  PROCESSION — FATHER  PARKER  IN  A  COACH  AND  FOUR. 

“After  service  Ave  had  a  procession  of  colored  people  through  the  streets.  As  many 
as  five  thousand  people  marched  four  abreast  through  the  town  to  the  General’s  head¬ 
quarters. 

“The  General  appointed  me  to  make  a  speech  to  him  vLen  the  procession  got  there. 
So  they  had  me  in  a  nice  carriage  with  four  black  horses,  in  the  middle  of  the  procession, 
with  a  band  of  music  just  before  me,  and  six  men  each  side  of  the  carriage  holding  a 
great  big  Union  flag  over  the  carriage  and'me.  As  we  passed  the  street  corners  Avhere 
the  soldiers  were  standing  guard,  they  all  presented  arms  with  as  much  importance  as 
if  I  had  been  President  of  the  United  States. 

“  It  seemed  so  grand,  and  so  glorious,  and  so  much  like  a  dream  that,  as  I  was  riding 
along  there,  I  had  to  slap  my  hands  together  and  say,  ‘  Good  Lord,  is  this  meP  more  than 
twenty  times. 

“When  we  reached  the  General’s  the  crowd  gathered  around,  and,  after  my  llttld 
speech,  the  General  did  make  just  the  prettiest  talk  to  the  people  that  I  ever  heard, 

“  Then  the  crowd  broke  up,  and  Avhat  with  bonfires,  and  guns  and  bells,  and  tin  horns 
and  hurrahs,  the  city  Avas  like  bedlam  all  night.  J^’Pears  like  the  people  all  forgot  to  go 
to  bed  at  all.” 

VISIT  TO  WASHINGTON. 

Of  bis  visit  to  Washington,  Father  Parker  says  :  “  I  always  wanted  to  see  Washington 
ever  since  I  was  a  boy.  But  my  old  master  always  said,  ‘No,  Dick,  you  can’t  go. 
You’ll  ncA^er  live  to  see  Washington  and  he  left  strict  orders  at  the  Baltimore  boat, 
that  if  old  Dick  Parker  tried  to  go  on  board  he  was  at  once  to  be  arrested. 

“  Well,  I  waited  on  Avith  great  patience  all  the  time,  believing  the  good  Lord  someday 
would  allow  me  to  go  there.  I  Avaited  and  waited,  until  after  the  Yankees  came,  Avhen 
one  day  master  fell  sick  and  very  suddenly  died.  I  went  to  his  funeral ;  heard  them 
pray  over  him ;  saw  him  all  snugly  put  away  ;  and  then,  when  I  turned  to  come  away, 
says  I,  ‘Well,  old  master,  you’re  there — you’re  there  now— and  I  reckon  my  time  has 
5 


06 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


come  to  go  to  Washington.’  I  started  that  very  night;  walked  aboard  the  Baltimore 
boat  like  a  General,  and  nobody  asked  me  for  a  pass  nor  seemed  to  notice  me. 

“When  the  boat  really  shoved  off  and  me  aboard,  I  had  to  slap  my  hands  and  shout 
aloud.  I  walked  the  deck  all  night — couldn't  sleep — and  when  they  pointed  out  to  me,  as 
we  passed,  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac — that  line  which  no  colored  man  could  pass  and  re¬ 
turn  free  to  Virginia — I  could  not  contain  my  feelings.  ‘  Ah,’  said  I,  ‘  this  is  the  air  of 
freedom  I’ve  dreamed  so  much  of.’ 

“  When  I  took  the  cars  at  Baltimore  for  Washington  I  just  leaned  back  in  the  seat 
and  enjoyed  it.  ‘  Well,  well,’  said  I,  ‘  this  is  the  Lord’s  doing ;  I  am  sure  enough  on  my 
way  to  Washington.’ 

“First thing  on  arriving  I  was  shown  to  the  Capitol — a  friend  escorted  me  right  into 
the  Representatives  Hall ;  that  great  marble  room,  with  the  wise  men  all  sitting  around  in 
council,  making  laws  for  the  great  United  States.  It  was  a  grand,  a  splendid  sight  for 
my  poor  eyes,  I  can  tell  you.  Then  we  went  to  the  other  end  of  the  building — to  the 
Senate — where  the  old  men  were — the  venerable  white-haired  men — like  the  old  ‘  school 
of  the  prophets.’  And  I  sat  right  down  on  one  of  their  seats  with  them — me  !  I  felt  as 
weak  as  a  child  ;  I  felt  like  good  old  Simeon  did ;  ‘  Now  let  thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
for  mine  eyes  have  seen.’  Then  I  visited  the  Treasury,  the  Patent  Office,  the  White 
House.” 

INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  PRESIDENT. 

“  They  took  ns  into  the  White  House,  through  all  the  grand  rooms  there.  I  felt  like 
the  Queen  of  Sheba  did  when  she  went  to  see  Solomon,  the  half  had  never  been  told  me. 

“When  we  came  into  the  President’s  rooms,  I  thought  the  President  was  out,  as  I 
didn’t  see  an}”^  one  there  that  looked  enough  for  the  Chief  Magistrate.  There  was, 
to  be  sure,  a  plain  farmer-like  looking  man,  tall  and  thin,  and  about  as  handsome  in  the 
face  as  I  am. 

“But  he  got  right  up  as  soon  as  we  entered,  and  when  he  knew  who  we  were,  made  us 
a  hearty  welcome,  and  offered  us  seats.  What  an  honor,  to  have  our  President  offer  me  a 
cheer  !  Well,  after  we  had  introduced  ourselves,  Mr.  Lincoln  gave  us  his  elegant  little 
speech.  He  did  talk  well  to  ns.  He  said  :  ‘Don’t  be  in  a  hurry,  friends,  you’ll  get  all 
your  rights  by  and  by, — you’ll  get  them  just  as  soon  as  you  are  prepared  for  them,  and 
know  how  to  use  them,’  and  so  on. 

“I  knew  soon  as  I  heard  that  man  speak,  and  saw  his  kind  face,  that  he  would  be  a 
good  friend  to  my  people  ;  and  I’ve  never  had  cause  to  change  my  mind. 

“  After  seeing  President  Lincoln,  I  had  no  more  to  see  in  Washington,  and  came  home 
contented,  with  2i full  heartP 

AUNT  MARIA. 

“At  one  of  my  calls  the  spirit  of  freedom  moved  an  ‘aunty’  to  talk  freely  of  her 
former  life.  ‘  Oh  !  how  different  to  what  it  used  to  be  !  On  our  plantation,  when 
the  war  was  going  on,  there  was  a  great  revival,  and  mistress  called  the  colored  people 
together  and  told  them  to  pray — to  pray  mighty  that  the  enemy  may  be  driven  back. 
So  we  prayed  and  prayed  all  over  the  plantation.  But  ’peared  like  de  more  de  darkies 
prayed,  de  more  nearer  de  Yankees  come.  Then  the  missus  said,  ‘  Stop  all  this  praying, 
I  won’t  have  it.  I  believe  they  are  praying  for  the  enemies  to  come.’  So  there  was  no 
more  jiraying  where  mistress  could  hear  it,  for  long  time.  By-and-by  it  began  again , 
but  then  the  Yankees  were  at  the  very  doors,  and  the  rebels  hadn’t  time  to  pay  ’tention 
to  our  prayers. 

“  One  day  my  mistress  came  out  to  me,  ‘Maria,  Maria,’  said  she,  ‘what  does  you  pray 
for?’ 

“  ‘  I  prays,  missus,  that  de  Lord’s  will  may  be  done.’ 

“  ‘But  you  mustn’t  pray  that  way.  You  must  pray  that  our  enemies  may  be  driven 
back.’ 

“  ‘  But,  missus,  if  it's  de  Lord’s  will  dat  de  Yankees  come — all  our  praying  won’t  halt 
'em,  and  if  it  is  de  Lord’s  will  to  drive  ’em  back,  den  they  will  go  back.’ 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


07 


“  ‘  O,  Maria,  you  iiuistn’t  talk  so  ;  don’t  you  know  you  could  be  shot  for  talking  so  V 
You  don’t  s’posc,  Maria,  that  any  white  folks  will  care  enough  about  you  to  make  you 
free?  They  are  white  folks,  and  we  are  white  folks,  and  what  will  they  care  for  you? 
They  want  to  send  you  to  llavany  aud  Cuby.’  But  I  didn’t  believe  any  such  fool¬ 
ishness.” 

AUNT  PHEBE. 

t 

“I  asked  old  aunty  this  afternoon  if  she  ever  had  any  conversation  with  the  rebel 
ladies.  She  told  mo  that  she  called  on  her  old  missus  the  other  day,  and  she  said,  ‘  Well, 
Phebc,  how  do  you  like  that  thing  you  call  freedom?’  ‘  Oh,  right  well.  Missus.’  ‘  And 
how  do  you  like  the  Yankees  ?’  ‘  Oh,  right  smart,  missus,  cos  dey  brought  de  freedom 

wid  ’em.’  She  says  before  the  Fcderals  came  her  massa  and  missus  told  their  slaves  they 
must  pray  every  day,  at  one  o’clock.  This  Phebe  was  the  nurse,  and  one  day  as  she 
went  into  the  house,  her  mistress  said,  ‘Phebe,  you  been  praying?’  ‘Yes,  missus.’ 
‘  What  did  you  say  ?’  ‘  I  say,  help  we  to  do  to  oders  as  we  would  hab  dem  do  to  us. 

‘  Why  didn’t  you  pray  for  your  country  ?’  ‘  0,  I  hain’t  got  no  country,  missus.’  ‘  Well , 

you  are  a  right  queer  nigger !  what  would  you  do  if  you  were  white  ?’  ‘  Bress  your 

heart,  duuno,  missus  ;  I’se  mighty  glad  I  ain’t — cos  I  might  be  standing  in  your  shoes  and 
weeping  for  my  faders  and  brudders.  So  you  see,  missus,  I  done  got  nuffin’  but  myself, 
and  I  aiiiHmy  own  nigger!'  This  poor  woman  has  four  children,  but  she  has  never  seen 
them  sinee  they  were  six  months  old.  They  were  all  ‘  sent  up  the  country,’  while  she 
nursed  the  children  of  her  mistress.” 


TEACHEES  AND  THEIK  EXPEEIENCES. 

Mrs.  Mary  Clemmer  Ames,  then  residing  at  Harper’s  Ferry,  thus 
describes  the  advent  of  a  company  of  teachers  into  that  place  : 

“Harper’s  Ferry,  West  Va.,  December,  1866. 

“Yesterday,  looking  from  my  window,  I  eaught  a  glimpse  of  ‘animated  nature,’ 
which  quickened  with  new  life  the  repose  eaught  from  the  blending  here  of  ruins, 
rocks  and  rivers.  What  was  it?  It  was  a  small  procession  of  Yankee  girls,  just 
from  the  cars,  coming  into  Harper’s  Ferry,  to  seatter  through  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  as 
teachers  of  the  freed-people.  That  was  a  sight  you  Avould  have  to  come  all  the  way  to 
the  old  slave  lands  to  appreeiate  !  There  the}"  were — ‘  theteaehers  !’  The  teachers  !  for 
whom  Virginians  had  the  most  chivalric  contempt,  and  the  few  Northern  hearts  here  the 
warmest  greeting. 

“A  troop  of  maidens,  who,  in  some  undeflnable  way,  suggest  Tennyson’s  ‘  sweet  girl 
graduates  with  their  golden  hair,’  although  I  am  very  sure  that  their  tresses  are  not  all 
of  the  hue  of  the  sun.  I  see  jaunty  hats  and  natty  jackets,  gay  scarfs  and  graceful 
robes.  I  see  elegauee,  beauty,  and  youth ;  all  come  to  brighten  the  lot  of  the  lowly,  to 
deliver  from  ignorance  and  vice  that  victim  race  which  our  brothers  with  their  blood 
delivered  from  chains. 

“Opposite  my  window  they  encounter  a  Virginia  belle,  arrayed  in  the  splendor  of  a 
purple  dress,  a  searlet  shawl,  a  green  hat  and  a  blue  veil.  Her  scornful  eyes  behold  the 
object  which  of  all  others  she  despises  most — ‘  a  nigger  teacher.’  What  is  worse,  she 
beholds  more  than  a  dozen  ‘  nigger  teachers’  all  together.  It  is  a  dreadful,  an  unbear¬ 
able  sight,  is  it  not,  my  dear  ?  I  suppose  I  ought  to  be  very  sorry  for  you ;  but  I  am 
not  sorry  a  bit.  It  is  an  affliction  of  great  magnitude,  to  be  sure,  that  your  whilom  ser¬ 
vants  should  be  taught  by  better  and  prettier  teachers  than  you  ever  had  in  your  life ; 
but  it  is  a  humiliation  which  you  will  have  to  bear,  and  the  only  way  that  you  can  lessen 
it  is  to  improve  yourself. 


68 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


“  This  old  house,  once  occupied  by  the  superintendent  of  the  armories,  is  now  used  as 
the  temporary  abode  of  the  superintendent  of  the  f reed-people’s  sehools  in  the  valle}'  of 
the  Shenandoah.  In  a  grand  old  room,  defaeed  by  war,  yet  brightened  with  pictures  and 
books  from  home,  overlooking  the  prospect  which  I  just  inadequately  sketehed,  I  saw 
yesterday  a  scene  not  to  be  forgotten.  That  lovely  Sabbath  afternoon  no  church  doors 
opened  to  the  teachers  !  With  their  books  in  their  hands  they  surrounded  this  wide 
room,  holding  a  simple  serviee  of  their  own.  A  room  full  of  youthful  women,  far  from 
home  and  all  its  loves,  sang  the  Lord’s  song  in  a  strange  land.  Those  old  walls,  which 
within  the  last  five  years  had  resounded  so  often  to  the  oath  and  jest  of  dissolute  men, 
now  sent  back  the  echoes  of  sweet  womanly  voices,  through  which  loving  hearts  trem¬ 
bled  as  they  sang, 

‘  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee.’ 

Here  was  the  red-lipped  sehool-girl,  just  from  school;  here  the  young  widow,  holding 
in  tearful  love  the  memory  of  buried  husband  and  child;  here  were  w^omen  in  the  prime 
of  matured  pow'er,  with  their  rare  beauty  of  sumptuous  w'omauhood — women,  whose 
eleganee  and  grace,  and  fine  mentality  w^ould  have  lent  lustre  to  the  highest  sphere. 
Such  were  the  teachers  of  the  freed  slaves,  wiio  sat  and  knelt  together ;  wiiose  soft  eyes 
dimmed  with  tears  as  they  sang  the  hymns  of  home,  and  prayed  for  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  their  work.” 


WARNED  NOT  TO  ENTER  THE  PEW  AGAIN. 

From  a  teacher  in  Virginia,  in  1866  : 

“The  two  Sundays  we  have  been  here,  w'e  attended  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the 
morning,  and  asking  the  sexton  for  a  seat,  were  told  to  occupy  any  vacant  one.  We 
modestly  took  the  first  vacant  one  we  saw,  about  the  third  from  the  door.  We  had  not 
been  very  long  back  from  the  service  wiien  the  sexton  appeared  at  the  door,  and  declin¬ 
ing  to  come  in,  asked  Mr.  J.  to  step  outside  and  reeeive  the  message  he  had  been  charged 
by  the  owners  of  the  pew  to  deliver  to  us,  namely,  a  request  that  ice  ivoald  7iever  again 
occupy  their  seat!'’  \j' 

GOOD  HUMOR  UNDER  TRIALS. 

With  the  utmost  care  we  could  exercise,  our  teachers  were  some¬ 
times  sent  to  places  where  the  home  and  school-house  tvere  not  prepar¬ 
ed  as  we  had  been  led  to  suppose  they  would  be.  We  present  in  tlie 
subjoined  humorous  sketch  a  picture  of  the  consequent  privations,  and 
of  the  abundant  good  nature  with  which  such  vexations  were  endured. 

We  need  scarcely  Gfive  assurance  that  the  difficulties  of  the  situation 
were  speedily  relieved  ;  for  soon  the  home  of  tlie  teachers  was  sup¬ 
plied  with  a  fair  share  of  modern  conveniences,  and  the  school  men¬ 
tioned  at  the  close  of  the  letter  gathered. 

“  January  8,  1868. 

“  We  have  been  here  nearly  a  week,  and  are  still  liviugMn  primitive  style.  We  were 
here  three  days  without  even  a  bed  ;  at  last,  by  our  united  efforts,  we  suceeeded  in 
obtaining  that.  We  are  still  minus  chairs  and  dishes  and  about  every  other  article  of 
furniture.  Fortunately  we  have  some  tinware,  which  answers  various  purposes  besides 
its  ordinary  uses. 

“  One  needs  to  be  a  missionary  awhile  to  appreciate  all  the  uses  to  which  a  tin  plate 
can  be  put ;  a  long  one  answers  for  a  plate  for  two  persons  ;  one  corner  can  be  parti¬ 
tioned  off  for  salt,  another  for  sauce,  another  for  bread,  and  a  potato  in  the  middle. 

This  same  tin  plate  will’  make  an  excellent  mirror.  In  the  absence  of  chairs,  the  fioor 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


69 


(my  present  loeation)  is  not  a  very  bad  seat,  and  one  can  use  their  lap  for  a  table  if 
necessary.  Shovels  and  tong's  arc  (piite  useless  extravagances  as  long  as  one  has  lingers 
— liable  to  get  burned  sometiuies,  but  missionaries  must  expect  that.  Add  to  this  tlie 
fact  that  our  stove  smokes  most  outrageously,  causing  us  to  slied  a  great  many  tears, 
and  you  have  some  idea  of  our  internal  arrangements. 

“  Our  home  from  the  outside  appears  to  be  a  very  neat  little  cottage  ;  but  when  you 
open  the  door,  ‘  what  a  fall  is  there,  my  countrymen  !’  imceiled  and  unplastered  walls, 
whose  rough,  barn-like  boards  are  well  adorned  with  wasps’  nests;  these,  however,  have 
nciirly  disappeared  since  our  arrival,  owing  to  a  vast  amount  of  poking  and  pounding. 
We  wash  our  own  windows,  do  our  own  cooking,  kill  our  own  lizards,  cut  our  ovii 
lingers,  bum  our  own  faces,  and  hold  no  one  responsible.  Our  house  at  night  is  made 
luminous  by  the  light  of  one  tallow  candle  set  in  a  tin  pepper-box ;  we  think  candles 
are  less  dangerous  than  oil,  and  pepper-boxes  are  less  expensive  than  lamps.  Add  to  our 
other  blessings  a  contented  mind,  and  you  will  see  we  have  very  much  for  which  to  be 
grateful,  I  should  have  told  you  about  our  school,  only  Ave  have  none;  school-houses 
are  scarce  about  here.  We  have  the  prospect  of  a  very  large  school.” 


A  GEORGIA  SCHOOL-HOUSE. 

I  am  teaching  in  what  Avas,  till  the  fall,  the  poultry-house.  Had  the  comfort  of  the 
feathered  tribe  been  more  thought  of  in  its  erection,  mine  would  have  been  better 
secured  at  present.  The  crevices  are  numerous,  and  the  keen  Avinds  easily  find  them. 
On  the  most  exposed  side,  I  have  nailed  up  an  army  blanket,  and  if  I  could  only  get 
more  to  tapestry  the  rest  of  the  building,  it  might  make  the  hens  sigh  for  their  old 
quarters.” 

A  AV ELL- VENTILATED  SCHOOL-HOUSE. 

A  teacher’s  experience  in  Arkansas  in  18G9  : 

“  The  only  school-house  which  Ave  could  rent  here  is  a  building  consisting  of  a  frame, 
covered  Avith  boards  on  the  outside — I  might  almost  say,  at  inteiwals,  so  large  are  the 
crticks  between  them.  It  has  a  fireplace,  four  doors  and  four  AvindoAvs,  and  the  Avind 
comes  through  every  crevice,  so  that  some  days  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  keep  warm 
even  with  a  large  fire. 

“  One  morning  after  a  rain,  the  roads  Avere  muddy,  the  stream  Avhich  Ave  cross  so 
swollen  that  Ave  had  to  take  a  longer  path  around,  and  at  my  arrival  at  the  shell  of  a 
house,  I  found  the  children  trying  to  kindle  a  fire  Avith  the  few  Avet  sticks  they  had 
‘  picked  up.’  The  Aveather  grew  colder,  and  avc  heard  our  recitations  Avith  the  snow 
falling  on  our  heads.  1  mention  this  as  a  fact,  not  a  complaint.  This  is  one  of  the  dark 
spots,  but  there  are  many  bright  ones. 

“  My  friends  Avould  have  been  amused  to  have  taken  a  peep  into  my  school-room  one 
day.  A  married  Avoman  sixteen  years  old  occupied  a  part  of  one  of  the  benches,  and  by 
her  side  lying  on  a  pillow  Avas  a  ‘  wee  bit  ’  specimen  of  a  darkey  three  months  old  covered 
with  a  quilt.  The  child  Avas  quite  troublesome,  but  the  mother  succeeded  in  learning 
and  reciting  her  lesson  for  the  morning.” 

ENROLLMENT. 

A  sketch  from  Georgia  in  1871  : 

“  How  the  roll-list  swelled  !  ‘  I  have  eight}" — ninety — one  hundred,’  Avere  the  reports 

brought  home  from  day  to  day.  ‘  Shall  I  take  more  T  ‘  Is  your  church  full  V’  our 
Superintendent  Avould  respond,  and  so  the  roll  increased  until  it  embraced  one  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  names, 

“  The  task  of  enrolling  was  by  no  means  light.  One  gave  her  age  as  ‘  100  years,’  and 
when  reproved  said,  ‘Any  way  I ’spect  I’se  four.’  The  next  reported  his  as  ‘Three 


TO 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


montlis.’  Another  gave  six  names  in  sueeession  before  the  true  one,  and  an  infant  who 
appeared  and  disappeared  most  mysteriously,  said  on  suceessive  days  that  hers  was 
Molly,  ^lary,  Ann,  Kat}",  each  time  admitting  she  had  another  but  had  ‘  done  forgot  it.’ 
Gordiana  Millidge,  out  of  respect  or  stupidity,  answered  for  months  to  the  name  of 
‘  Millidgeman,’  the  veiy  natural  rendering  of  her  response,  ‘  Gordiana  Millidge,  Ma’am,’ 
and  little  Ben  blossomed,  on  inquiring,  into  Meshech  Abednego.  Preston  S.  Brooks,  I 
turned  away,  but  Washington,  Bunyan,  Jeff  Davis  and  Abraham  Lincoln  played  and 
studied  together  most  amicably.  I  confess  it  w'as  not  without  a  tinge  of  regret  that  I 
let  big  Jeff  take  his  place  above  little  Abe,  once  in  the  spelling  class,  albeit  he  had 
earned  the  same.” 


THE  KU  KLUX. 

In  tills  connection  we  give  a  few  illustrations  of  the  terrible  days 
of  tlie  Ku  Klux  outrages — not  to  revive  bitter  memories,  but  simply 
to  sliow  the  effect  on  our  schools  and  teachers  : 

A  TEACHER  AVHIPPED. 

From  a  teacher  in  Virginia,  in  1870: 

“We  are  in  trouble.  Five  men,  disguised  in  a  Satanic  garb,  on  the  night  of  the  26th 
inst.,  dragged  me  from  my  bed,  and  bore  me  roughly  in  double-quick  time  one  and  a  half 
miles  to  a  thicket,  whipped  me  mimereifully,  and  left  me  to  die.  They  demanded  of  me 
that  I  should  cease  teaching  niggers,  and  leave  in  ten  days,  or  be  treated  w^orse.  I  am 
not  able  to  sit  up  yet.  I  shall  never  recover  from  all  my  injuries.” 

A  Seci'ctary  of  the  Association,  traveling  in  Georgia,  in  1869, 
writes  : 

“  The  Ku  Klux  bands  are  active.  When  I  reached  Atlanta  a  few  days  ago,  I  found  one  of 
our  male  teachers  here  who  had  been  warned  to  leave  a  town  a  few  miles  distant.  The 
warning  w'as  rej)eated,  and  a  definite  day  fixed.  The  teacher  went  to  the  mayor  for  protec¬ 
tion.  That  worthy  officer  was  kind  enough  to  say  that  he  would  not  harm  the  teacher !  but 
that  he  could  not  protect  him,  and  would  not  be  answerable  for  consequences !  The 
man  nndoubtedl}"  would  have  been  lynched,  or  murdered,  if  he  had  remained. 

“  A  day  or  two  after  this  I  was  delayed  at  a  station  not  far  from  that  place,  and  saw  a 
man  who  had  been  teaching  a  small  colored  school  on  his  own  account — on  the  planta¬ 
tion  of  his  brother.  He  had  been  dragged  from  his  bed  a  few^  nights  before,  severely 
whipped,  hanged  by  the  neck  till  almost  dead,  and  warned  to  leave  in  five  days.  He 
was  just  taking  the  cars  then,  as  the  time  was  about  up. 

“  A  Bureau  officer  has  just  told  me  of  a  colored  man  he  had  seen  w’ho  had  been  shot 
through  the  face  because  he  had  taught  a  little  school  of  negro  children.  Here  were  three 
cases  within  a  short  distance  of  each  other,  in  less  than  a  week.” 

THE  MURDER  BY  KU  KLUX  OF  ML  C.  LUKE. 

“About  a  year  ago,  W.  C.  Luke  left  his  wife  and  children  at  their  rural  home  in 
Canada,  and  bearing  from  his  Methodist  pastor  a  letter,  telling  of  his  long  service  as 
Sunday-school  superintendent,  he  appeared  at  the  A.  M.  A.’s  rooms  in  Cincinnati, 
asking  for  information  in  regard  to  a  suitable  field  where  he  might  establish  a  village 
school  for  the  Freedmen,  and  make  a  home  for  his  family. 

“He  was  sent  to  Talladega,  Ala.,  wfficre  he  made  himself  useful  in  school  and  church 
work. 

“  He  had  been  there  but  a  few  months,  when  Captain  Barney,  Superintendent  of 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 


71 


the  Selma,  Rome  and  Dalton  R.  R.,  desired  a  man  as  clerk  in  his  central  oflicc  at 
Patona,  who  shonld  also  be  a  sort  of  missionary  aniono-  the  Frccdmen.  Unlike  Cap¬ 
tain  Barney  (who  was  absent  most  of  the  time),  several  of  the  lower  officials  and  agents 
sneered  at  and  opposed  the  ‘  nigi^cr  teacher  ’  clerk.  Captain  Barney  ordered  his  ware¬ 
house  to  be  opened  for  Sabbath-school,  himself  circulated  notice  of  the  school,  and 
took  part  in  it  the  Sabbath  before  Luke  arrived.  Frequently  when  he  was  s’one,  the 
key  to  tlie  wareroom  would  be  spirited  away ;  unusual  noises  would  come  from  the 
adjacent  rooms  during  Sabbath-school ;  the  telegraph  machine  which  Luke  was  ordered 
to  use,  would  move  about  at  night,  so  he  could  not  tind  it  for  practice.  Various  threats 
Avere  circulated  till,  finally,  shots  were  fired  just  over  his  bed,  after  something  had  been 
throAAUi  against  his  Avindow,  evidently  to  make  him  sit  up  in  bed.  But  the  lives  of 
othei-s  only  Averc  endangered,  as  he  happened  to  be  absent  that  night. 

“Presently,  some  of  the  New-YorkR.  R.  capitalists,  spending  the  Sabbath  in  Patona, 
Avere  so  much  pleased  Avith  his  Sabbath-school,  that  they  decided  to  erect  a  school 
building  at  once.  Luke  Avas  to  give  his  whole  time  to  teaching,  and  looking  after  the 
building. 

“  All  this  intensifled  the  feelings  of  ‘  White  Men’s  Government  ’  people.  A  friend  of 
Luke’s  getting  off  the  train  at  Patona,  could  find  no  clue  of  him.  ‘  No  such  man  lives 
here,’  said  one  who  had  sat  at  table  with  him  for  months.  But  the  colored  men  knew 
him,  and  where  he  could  be  found.  At  last,  through  a  relative  of  the  NeAV-York  capi¬ 
talists,  Avho  accidentally  came  in  possession  of  the  facts,  they  and  the  superintendent 
were  apprised  of  Luke’s  treatment,  and  within  a  week  certain  services  Avere  no  longer 
needed  at  Patona. 

“Matters  now  seemed  prosperous  till  Sabbath  afternoon,  the  10th  inst.,  Avhen,  at 
Cross  Plains,  a  colored  boy  Avas  abused  and  kicked  for  not  holding  fast  to  a  mule  fright¬ 
ened  at  an  approaching  train.  Several  colored  persons,  some  of  them  from  tlie  train, 
resented  the  insult,  and  I  think  some  shots  were  fired.  Later  in  the  evening,  several 
shots  were  fired,  either  at  the  people  returning  from  church  or  as  a  signal.  No  one  Avas 
hurt,  but  a  return  fire  was  given  which  badly  wounded  one  colored  man. 

“  The  next  day  Luke  and  a  large  number  of  colored  people  from  Patona  Avere  arrested 
Avith  or  without  form  of  law.  Luke  seems  to  have  been  arrested  on  the  ground  of 
being  the  ‘  nigger  teacher,’  and  hence  the  p»robable  instigator  of  the  assault.  On  the 
contrary,  hoAVCA^er,  on  hearing  of  the  treatment  of  the  negro  boy,  he  remarked  that  he 
wished  ‘  they  had  treated  him  ten  times  worse,  so  he  would  learn  to  stay  at  home  for 
Sabbath- school.’  At  the  jAreliminary  trial  all  but  four  freedmen  and  Luke  were  released. 

“Near  midnight  from  thirty  to  sixty  disguised,  armed  men,  rode  up  to  the  house 
where  the  sheriff  was  keeping  the  five  men,  and  after  a  plea  or  tAvo  from  persons  pres¬ 
ent,  in  behalf  of  the  prisoners,  they  quietly  said  to  the  sheriff,  ‘hands  off,’  and  bound 
the  five  men.  After  considerable  pleading,  they  permitted  brother  Luke  to  Avrite  to  his 
wife  and  gave  him  a  little  time  to  pray.  (I  inclose  a  copy  of  his  letter,  Avhich  Avas  found 
sticking  to  a  rail  the  next  morning.)  They  then  took  them  half  a  mile  from  toAvn,  and 
hung  them  to  three  trees  by  the  roadside.  Two  apparently  were  taken  down  and  shot, 
to  provide  ropes  for  the  others.  At  the  coroner’s  inquest  on  Monday,  all  five  were  laid 
side  by  side,  with  their  hats  turned  over  their  faces  and  a  rail  pen  put  round  them. 

“  The  friends  of  Luke  with  difficulty  and  danger  succeeded  in  getting  his  body  Tues¬ 
day  morning  and  buried  it  in  Talladega.  The  friends  and  relatives  of  the  others  dared 
not  go  near  their  bodies,  as  they  lay  there  alone  under  one  of  the  trees  on  which  they 
were  hung.  They  were  buried  by  the  town  a  day  or  two  later.  Luke’s  funeral  Avas  at¬ 
tended  by  many  leading  citizens,  white  and  black,  of  whom  not  a  few  felt  that  this  was 
the  deepest  affliction  of  their  lives.’’ 

Copy  of  the  letter  written  by  W.  C.  Luke  to  his  wife  on  tlie  night 
of  his  death  by  hanging : 

“  Patona,  July  11,  1870. 

“  My  Dear  Wife  :  I  die  to-night.  It  has  been  so  determined  by  those  who  think  I 


72 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


deserve  it.  God  knows  I  feel  myself  innoeent.  I  have  only  sought  to  edueatc  the 
negro. 

“I  little  thought  when  leaving  you  so  far  away,  that  we  should  then  part  forever. 

“God’s  will  he  done.  He  will  be  to  you  a  better  husband  than  I  have  been,  and  a 
father  to  our  six  little  ones. 

“There  is  in  the  company's  liands  about  $200  of  my  money,  also  my  trunk  and  clothes 
are  here. 

“You  can  send  for  them  or  let  Henry  come  for  them,  as  you  think  best. 

“  God  of  mercy  bless  and  keep  you,  my  dear,  dear  wife  and  children. 

“Tour  William.” 


CONCLUSION. 

The  Negro,  tlie  Indian,  and  the  Chinese  on  our  Western  coast  liave 
peculiar  claims  on  the  sympathies  of  the  white  people  of  America,  for 
these  colored  races  are  the  victims  of  caste-prejudice — they  are 
wounded  and  robbed,  lying  at  the  wayside.  Tlie  priest  and  Levite 
must  not  pass  them  by  :  we  must  all  become  their  good  Samaritans. 

The  Negroes  have  the  additional  appeal  to  our  justice  and  sense 
of  self-preservation  :  we  have  oppressed  them  for  two  and  a  half 
centuries,  and  have  grown  rich  on  their  toil ;  their  bondage  has  been 
our  crime,  and  we  have  paid  the  penalty  in  a  million  of  lives ;  tlieir 
freedom  may  be  our  curse  if  they  are  left  in  ignorance  and  deg¬ 
radation,  to  become  either  the  victims  of  local  abuse  that  may 
grow  into  a  war  of  races,  or  the  tools  of  crafty  men  who  will  use 
them  for  selfish  political  ends,  thus  checking  the  returning  prosper¬ 
ity  of  the  South,  and  perpetuating  our  national  animosities.  Nothing 
but  their  Cliristian  enlightenment,  fitting  them  in  mind  and  heart  for 
their  new  and  difficult  position,  Avill  meet  their  necessities,  or  discharge 
America’s  responsibility,  or  secure  its  safety. 

The  facts  recited  in  the  preceding  narrative  indicate  the  Negro’s 
anxiety  and  capability  for  learning,  and  the  sketch  of  the  institutions 
founded  by  the  American  Missionary  Association  shows,  as  we  be¬ 
lieve,  the  wisdom  and  success  of  its  past  efforts,  and  its  remarkable 
preparation  for  future  work  in  the  character  of  its  self-denying  and 
efficient  teachers,  its  commodious  and  well-located  institutions,  its 
pure  churches  and  intelligent  pastors,  as  well  as  its  far-reaching 
plans  and  thorough  acquaintance  with  this  peculiar  field. 


Constitution  of  the  American  Missionary  Association. 

inoorj^oratecl  'to, 


ART.  I.  This  Society  shall  be  called  “The  Ajmbrican  Missionary  Association." 

Art.  II.  The  object  of  this  Association  shall  be  to  conduct  Christian  missionary 
and  educational  operations,  and  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  our 
own  and  other  countries  which  are  destitute  of  them,  or  which  present  open  and 
urgent  fields  of  effort. 

Art.  III.  Any  person  of  evangelical  sentiments,*  who  professes  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  not  a  slaveholder,  or  in  the  practice  of  other  immorali¬ 
ties,  and  who  contributes  to  the  funds,  may  become  a  member  of  the  Society ;  and 
by  the  payment  of  thirty  dollars,  a  life  member ;  provided,  that  children  and 
others  who  have  not  professed  their  faith,  may  be  constituted  life  members  with¬ 
out  the  privilege  of  voting. 

Art.  IV.  This  Society  shall  meet  annually,  in  the  month  of  September,  Octo¬ 
ber,  or  November,  for  the  election  of  officers  and  the  transaction  of  other  business, 
at  such  time  and  place  as  shall  be  designated  by  the  Executive  Committee. 

Art.  V.  The  annual  meeting  shall  be  constituted  of  the  regular  officers  and 
members  of  the  Society  at  the  time  of  such  meeting,  and  of  delegates  from 
churches,  local  missionary  societies,  and  other  cooperating  bodies — each  body 
being  entitled  to  one  representative. 

Art.  VI.  The  officers  of  the  Society  shall  be  a  President,  Vice-Presidents,  a  Re¬ 
cording  Secretary,  Corresponding  Secretaries,  Treasurer,  two  Auditors,  and  an 
Executive  Committee  of  not  less  than  twelve,  of  which  the  Corresponding  Sec¬ 
retaries  shall  be  advisory,  and  the  Treasurer  ex-officio,  members. 

Art.  VII.  To  the  Executive  Committee  shall  belong  the  collecting  and  disb’irs- 
ing  of  funds ;  the  appointing,  counseling,  sustaining,  and  dismissing  (for  just  and 
sufficient  reasons)  missionaries  and  agents;  the  selection  of  missionary  fields; 
and,  in  general,  the  transaction  of  all  such  business  as  usually  appertains  to  the 
executive  committees  of  missionary  and  other  benevolent  societies ;  th<e  Commit¬ 
tee  to  exercise  no  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  over  the  missionaries ;  and  its  doings 
to  be  subject  always  to  the  revision  of  the  annual  meeting,  which  shall,  by  a 
reference  mutually  chosen,  always  entertain  the  complaints  of  any  aggrieved 
agent  or  missionary ;  and  the  decision  of  such  reference  shall  be  final. 

The  Executive  Committee  shall  have  authority  to  fill  all  vacancies  occurring 
among  the  officers  between  the  regular  annual  meetings ;  to  apply,  if  they  see 
fit,  to  any  State  Legislature  for  acts  of  incorporation ;  to  fix  the  compensation, 
where  any  is  given,  of  all  officers,  agents,  missionaries,  or  others  in  the  employ¬ 
ment  of  the  Society ;  to  make  provision,  if  any,  for  disabled  missionaries,  and  for 
the  widows  and  children  of  such  as  are  deceased  ;  and  to  call,  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  at  their  discretion,  special  and  general  conventions  of  the  friends  of  mis¬ 
sions,  with  a  view  to  the  diffusion  of  the  missionary  spirit,  and  the  general  and 
vigorous  promotion  of  the  missionary  work. 

Five  members  of  the  Committee  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  transacting 
business. 

Art.  VIIL  This  Society,  in  collecting  funds,  in  appointing  officers,  agents,  and 
missionaries,  and  in  selecting  fields  of  labor,  and  conducting  the  missionary  work, 
will  endeavor  particularly  to  discountenance  slavery,  by  refusing  to  receive  the 
known  fruits  of  unrequited  labor,  or  to  welcome  to  its  employment  those  who 
hold  their  fellow-beings  as  slaves. 

Art.  IX.  Missionary  bodies,  churches,  or  individuals,  agreeing  to  the  principles 
of  this  Society,  and  wishing  to  appoint  and  sustain  missionaries  of  their  own, 
shall  be  entitled  to  do  so  through  the  agency  of  the  Executive  Committee,  on 
terms  mutually  agreed  upon. 

Art.  X.  No  amendment  i^hall  be  made  in  this  Constitution  without  the  concur¬ 
rence  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present  at  a  regular  annual  meeting ;  nor 
unless  the  proposed  amendment  has  been  submitted  to  a  previous  meeting,  or  to 
the  Executive  Committee  in  season  to  be  published  by  them  (as  it  shall  be  their 
duty  to  do,  if  so  submitted,)  in  the  regular  official  notification  of  the  meeting. 


*  By  evangelical  sentiments  we  understand,  among  others,  a  belief  in  the  guilty  and  lost  con¬ 
dition  of  all  men  without  a  Saviour ;  the  Supreme  Deity,  Incarnation,  and  Atoning  Sacrifice  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  only  Saviour  of  the  world ;  the  necessity  of  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
repentance,  faith,  and  holy  obedience,  in  order  to  salvation ;  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  and  the 
retributions  of  the  judgment  in  the  eternal  punishment  of  the  wicked,  and  salvation  of  the 
righteoua 


